Again? Hell, NO! But
by Mariann's
Summary: My take on a "Harry goes back" story. Hopefully not cliché. Pairings H/HR SB/RL and many others, as they come up in the story. Nothing graphic. Political utopia. Mostly fun and light-hearted, since I don't like angst and too much drama.
1. An EyeOpener or Two

A/N: This is my take on a „Harry goes back" story. It will be fairly short, and maybe a bit radical. It will be told from two points of view for the most part, one is Remus, the other is Hermione. Harry provides a third occasional POV. A pet peeve of mine is running a story from a single POV because certain things need to be kept secret for the outcome to work out. Personally I think that's poor penmanship.

Pairings will be strictly Harry/Hermione, Remus/Sirius and probably I'll throw in some others, because I like the characters. A few OCs will turn up, but they're not running, they're only supporting the story.

Manipulative Dumbledore, will be taken care of early. Powerful Harry with plenty of backbone, support and some radical ideas. I admit that I avoid most of the reasoning on how Harry manages to go back in time, but the fact must suffice, as it's what he starts to do with his second chance that forms the story.

**Again? – Hell, no! But…**

**Chapter 1 – An eye-opener or two**

Rainbow Cottage, New Forest – 17.06.1989

(Remus)

It's another morning and I get up to go about my business as every other day since I've left school. No real work, but I have two or three magazines that accept my articles for small contributions on a regular basis. I'm glad for these, because this bit of work has at least allowed me to live through these harsh times ever since I've lost all of my friends.

Every day I'm thinking of them. They're all dead or dead to me, anyway. I find that the memory is even vanishing quickly, but I know I've had them, I know they were real, that I went to Hogwarts with them and that we were friends. But that's about as much as I know. I even remember what their names were though I also wonder why I can't remember anything else.

To have lost most memories of them is just about the greatest tragedy in my life – I think. I've come to the conclusion that someone must have taken them from me by obliviation, but I have no idea who it could be! I'm so grateful that Albus helped me to work for these magazines, to be able to study and research and write. It's what I love best and at least it helps me to keep my cottage and puts enough food on the table to keep going.

Though I don't really know what for. I feel completely empty on most mornings. I know that there are things I should remember, but they're not there to remember.

Anyway, I'm getting up as every morning, having tried in vain to remember what it was that lost me James, Lily and Sirius. I go about my bathroom routine, then I take the way down the steps to the kitchen, where I find my two hungry cats, Selene and Solaris. I quickly feed them. They're my everything these days. The only ones who want some love from me.

A look to the clock on the kitchen wall tells me that it's my usual time for breakfast, just before eight o'clock in the morning. As I watch the cats eat their own breakfast I move to the pantry and get what I want to eat. It's not a lot, but enough for me to live almost comfortably. My parents have left me a wonderful cottage and I have my magic, enough to survive. I suppose it's a lonely existence, but it does fit my taste. I'm on my own, but I do have a quiet, peaceful life.

Breakfast is prepared with a few waves of my wand and as I lift my teacup for my first sip there's an owl tapping on my kitchen window. Instead of the cup I pick up my wand to open the window and let it inside. Probably one of the publishers asking for an article on a certain subject.

It's an owl I've never seen before. It delivers the letter and hops on the back of a free chair, looking at me expectantly.

"I suppose you'll be expecting an answer, aren't you?"

A little bow from the owl tells me that it is so. I feed her some of my freshly cooked bacon and pick up the letter to slit it open. As soon as I have it in my hands I notice that it's not a letter from a publisher as it's written on a sheet of normal paper, not parchment. I unfold the single page.

"Dear Uncle Moony

I'm sure you wonder who I am to call you this, don't you? Let me be blunt: my name is Harry James Potter and I'm your friend James' son…"

Harry! There's one of the memories that were gone! How could it be gone like that? I've completely forgotten Harry's existence! Not that it triggers any more memories, but at least I remember that little Harry was born in summer 1980. I quickly summon a piece of parchment and note down some facts I can remember from the past nineteen years from the day I went off to school. There aren't many. I have memories back to about eight years ago, no, even less, I think they are going back to about Christmas 1981 and even the ones I have are hazy? What the heck is wrong with me? I'm a scholar, I should be able to remember my own childhood, shouldn't I? I mean, I can't even remember why he calls me 'Moony'? Must be some joke about my condition, I suppose. I read on:

"I don't know why you aren't in my life, I only know that my parents were killed on Halloween 1981 and I was given to my mum's sister Petunia when I was only one year old. Don't ask me in written form how I come to know about you being one of my 'uncles', but I now know you were one of my dad's best friends at school.

Okay, so I know a lot more, but I cannot possibly put it down in a letter. I have summoned this owl from the play park that's near my aunt's house. I think it's reliable and inconspicuous. Can you do me a favour, trust me, and send your address back to me so that I can write to you by Muggle postal service? There are things going on that we have to talk about and find out.

I'm only eight years old, I'll turn nine in a few weeks, and I've become aware of the magic in me, but my relatives never told me anything. You'll probably think that no eight year old would be able to write the way I do, and you're probably right. I have my reasons, though right now I'm not able to write much better than this.

Anyway, tell me where I can reach you, I'd like to get to know you!

Love and hugs from

Harry"

I'm speechless. Looking at the meagre two lines of notes on my parchment I quickly decide that yes, I'm sending him my address.

"Dear Harry

It's a sad and happy day at the same time since your owl just reached me a few minutes ago. For some reasons my memories of you and my friends are very, very hazy and I'm not sure if this isn't some elaborated prank, but I'd gladly receive letters from you! Your owl will reach me at Rainbow Cottage, New Forest. I have lived here since quite early in my childhood. If in any way possible you'd be welcome to spend some holiday time here!

With my best regards

Remus J. Lupin"

I hand the small letter to the owl, who picks it up and leaves through the window without further ado. I eat my breakfast and contemplate the letter. Harry probably thinks I still know, but I don't!

In the end I clean up the kitchen and head upstairs to find the ladder to the loft, to see if I have some stuff up there that would trigger more memories! Someone has been playing with my head big time and I don't like it one little bit. I'm just about to go up when I notice the small alarm ward around the cottage going off. It tells me when someone arrives by apparition. In the past years it has only gone off when Albus arrived here or Poppy. I turn around and go down to see, which of them it is.

It's neither. I'm speechless to see a small boy with unruly black hair, shabby, baggy clothes and glasses that seem to be kept together by a few bits of sticky tape in the small space between the garden fence and my door. How could he get there? But something in his face makes me stop – he has the greenest eyes I've ever seen on anybody! I know it should mean something to me! What is it?

"Good morning, uncle Moony!"

There is that name again.

"Hello? You must be Harry? How do you get here?"

"I may look only eight years old, but I'm a bit more than that. Would you let me enter, please? I'm going to tell you some absolutely unbelievable things, and you'll have to trust me, but then we can go about healing each other!"

"Yes, of course! Please come inside. You look quite hungry, I'll fix you a little breakfast while you tell me your story, okay?"

"Would you? Thanks! I haven't had anything for two days and I've only just managed to get out of my relatives' house."

"Not eaten for two days? Come in quickly, Harry, that's not good news at all!"

I usher him into the kitchen. He looks around with curious eyes and smiles.

"This is a lovely place! My aunt's house looks spotless, but soulless. Your home looks spotless and like it has a great big heart that's beating here. Like home…" he says quietly.

"Thank you, Harry. It's probably the soul it received from my parents. They were wonderful people."

"You said in your letter that you have very few memories of your friends?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Let me start by telling you that I know you've been obliviated. It's been a cruel, cruel thing to do, and you probably won't believe me when I tell you that the person who obliviated you also forced you to implicitly trust him by using compulsion spells and possibly potions. I do think he didn't use Imperius on you, but I wouldn't be surprised if he proved me wrong on even that bit of trust I have left in him."

"How do you know all that?" I ask, while at the same time I'm shocked.

The only person I see these days and the only one I implicitly trust is the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.

"Because I'm my eight year old me, but I'm also my 35 year old me at the same time."

I manage to set down the plate of fry-up breakfast in front of him – probably with a bang, as he looks a bit surprised. Then I have to sit down because I'm so shocked! There's still something like a pad of cotton in my head, but only now I realise it's there! Definitely too many exclamation marks in my mind I manage to think.

"Yes, I know, it was a shock for me as well. Before I go into any lengthy explanations let me lift those horrible spells from you and while I eat you'll have time to think over what you've just received back, okay?"

I'm only telling him to go ahead because I'm having some newly found doubts about myself. Knowing that I should know some things when I really don't should make any wizard suspicious!

"May I use your wand as I haven't one yet?" he asks politely.

"Yes, you may, here!"

I hand him over my wand and he starts to incant and murmur a series of spells that I've never heard of – and I pride myself in knowing an awful lot of spells! As he hands me back my wand I can feel something in my head, almost as if water was dribbling from a tap. Like there were memories dripping inside, one by one and when I see some of them I faint.

I come around and find myself on the sofa in the living room, Harry looks at me anxiously, but when I smile and nod, he lets go a breath that sounds relieved.

"Phew! I knew it would not be easy on you, but I didn't know it would knock you out, uncle Moony. I let you rest up while I go back to the kitchen, okay?"

"Yes, that's fine – thank you, Harry."

"Rummage around and familiarise yourself with yourself again. I think you haven't been who you should be for a few years!"

It's like a flood! Not only do I remember James, Lily and Sirius, I remember our relationships, and I remember a fourth friend, Peter and many others. I can now remember all the years I've missed from my memory, our school years, the few years after school when we fought in the war – THAT'S IT!!!! There are the main memories, the ones I should hold dear! The ones I should know! AAARGH!!! It's too much, it's too painful! All the friends we've lost, the secrets that were betrayed. Then another hammer hits me, I remember my time with my best friend and lover, Sirius, and how he betrayed us! Now I know that he's not dead, he's at Azkaban. I want to scream, but instead tears roll down my cheeks about a love that's lost. He betrayed us! How could he do that? But – that's not how he really was, is it? Could he have done it?

I rummage around a bit more and remember baby Harry. He made us smile every day from the morning he arrived to the day we lost each other. I think we all fought for him, for a chance that he may live in happiness. More tears; I don't stop them or try to hold them back, it's simply too much.

After a while I start to come back and hear the noise of Harry, eating in the kitchen and then cleaning it up. He comes back over and gives me back my wand.

"I've used it to clean up again, thanks for the excellent food," he says. "How do you feel?"

"Thank you, Harry! I think I've existed for eight years and I didn't know that I missed something. I just remembered that I had friends, some of their names, but nothing otherwise. You seem to know who abused me?"

"I do. I don't, however, know whether you'll accept it when I tell you."

"I might have a suspicion. But you're right, it's extremely hard to accept… tell me!"

Harry sits down next to me as I sit upright again. Selene comes and jumps up on the sofa to get some of the cuddles she loves. While I absentmindedly caress her, Harry starts with his own tale:

"I have already lived through a horror life for 35 years. I simply couldn't bear it anymore and decided to end it. I'll tell you everything that happened in that life, but I will start at the end for now. I have ended it by jumping through the Veil of Death, Remus. It was on Halloween 2015 and I had just left my wife and her two children. I say 'her children' because I hadn't fathered them. I had stopped touching her the moment she got me to marry her. I decided to end it because there was no way to get out of that marriage, as she had told me she wanted the old marriage bond, which is, as you know, unbreakable, so I took the leap into the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries.

"But I wasn't dead when I went in there. To my endless surprise I found myself in some sort of a limbo, where I was told I couldn't move on to the realm of the dead because I wasn't already dead when I chose that exit. I was told I had two options – to stay there eternally, never able to fully die or to go back to any point in my life to get things done better and to avoid all of the mistakes I made. Doesn't mean I can't make any new mistakes, of course, but with what I know of the future I can set things right and look forward to other things to come my way. It affects the magical world in the whole, Remus. When I left there were fewer than half of the people I loved left alive. You were dead and the horrors of the second war threw you into the arms of a woman, as Sirius was already dead…"

I blush. So he knows about my relationship with Sirius… he probably also knows that I'm a werewolf. But I stay quiet and spur him on to tell me all of his story.

"…in short it was a horrid world. Being used and abused was the theme of my life. Being manipulated by Albus Dumbledore practically from the day I was born was the main thread of that life. So, when I got the option to go back to any time of my life of my choice I went back to three days ago as I thought this is now the time when I can go about making those decisions that would change everything for the better."

He then launches into a story of his years at the Dursleys', of his years at Hogwarts, of his friends or the ones he thought were his friends, of the many friends he's made on the way at Hogwarts and how he lost some of them to the killing curses of the Death Eaters, of the manipulations and machinations of the headmaster, of the further horror of his marriage to a woman he thought he knew and loved.

"That was the final draw. The drop that made the barrel run over. The moment I knew it's impossible to live on. Ginny had been dosing me, and Hermione, for years with the strongest love potions she could brew. It was an awful feeling to find myself in an unbreakable marriage, Remus, there was no way I could possibly go on with that. The only way was to end it permanently. She had what she had wanted, the Potter title and the Potter fortune. From day one in our marriage she spent what she could and never cared about me anymore at all. Day after day I lived in a house full of contempt and saw her spending my family's money and flirting with everything that had a cock, just as long as it wasn't me. She slept around and I let it happen, feeling too betrayed to even start to do anything about it. She fell pregnant and before she told me she did sleep with me, then claimed it to be my kid, and that twice. None of them were. They were eight and five when I left and both weren't cared for as they should, because I wasn't allowed to bring them up as I wanted, she kept me away by forcing me into public appearances so that her name would be in the papers constantly."

How horrible is that? I can't but ask:

"Who would be so cruel, Harry?"

"Ginevra Weasley. I should have known from the moment I overheard her mother talk about love potions she brewed herself when she was a teenager. You know that these potions don't stick, they have to be administered on regular intervals if you want them to keep working, but not only did I resist them for years, it took a portion close to an overdose to actually get me to propose to her. She continued with them for several years, probably weakening them and then stopped using them when we got married and there was a first child. She only needed me to accept the child as mine and then she would have free reign over all of my possessions. My person, she stepped over like I was just dust under her shoes."

"You mentioned Hermione was also doped?"

"Oh yes. Molly Weasley wanted someone for Ron who would do all the work – not only the housework, but also working for their living, because Ron was a lazy lay-about who would never do anything. He constantly insulted Hermione and put her down, but he forced her to work so he could stay at home and do nothing. He regularly took advantage of her even before they were married, and even though Hermione withstood the power of the potion for as long as I did she finally gave in when Ginny had broken my will. Probably didn't see another option anymore. Using such potions is nothing else but rape, Remus! It's an absolute crime and should be treated like an Unforgivable, because there's not much of a difference between a love potion and an Imperius curse, believe me!"

"I would agree with that, Harry."

"Well, that's the story, or most of it. My soul and memories have been implanted back in my body of the almost nine-year-old three days ago. Once I became aware of the facts and my back-story I apparated right into Gringotts and went to see about my inheritance. Dumbledore has denied me my rightful inheritance once, but not a second time, Moony! I then went to the vault and found something that will prove Sirius' innocence, even without the rat, but as I also happen to know where the rat is our proof will be twice as hard. I want you to contact Madam Bones, if she's already the head of the DMLE, and ask her for a possibility to speak with her. Just remember that we have to swim under Dumbledore's radar, so we possibly have to move on to Potter Manor, where he won't be able to reach us. I will ditch his wards at Privet Drive if you allow me to use your wand again, because there are some spells on me through which he checks up on my health and whereabouts. I don't think he's looking over the tracking charms very strictly, because he thinks I know nothing of the magic yet and can't go very far, but I prefer to err on the side of caution."

I start to work my Marauder brain again. Gosh, it's been so long since I've planned our pranks, but I find that the memories are now streaming back in my brain. For the first time in years I'm thinking clearly and not only when I work on some studies, but in connection with the world around me beyond my cottage and the store where I buy my edibles.

Harry tells me all about his knowledge of the headmaster's deceptions and machinations, not only his manipulation of Harry and myself, but what he got from his political clout and how he bound Fawkes, the phoenix to him.

"After Dumbledore's death at the end of my sixth year we all thought that Fawkes was lamenting his death, but in truth, and how Fawkes informed me much later on Dumbledore had used some horrid dark ritual to bind the phoenix to himself, it wasn't lament, it was happiness. He knew what a powerful signal the bond with a phoenix would give. And it did. Everyone who ever started to distrust him was pointed out how a phoenix would never stay with someone who would stray from the Light.

"Of course it was also that he actually thought he was working for the good of the people, but in thinking that he stepped over at least thirty or more lives that he willingly manipulated until they either died, killed themselves, sacrificed themselves or were left a vegetable. He has used so many of you and your friends it's not even funny! The Prewett brothers for example, what do you know about their deaths?"

"Just that it took five of them to kill them. Gideon and Fabian were formidable wizards, Harry, you would have liked them if you like the Weasley twins the way you describe them…"

"Well, these five were only there because Wormtail had sent them there – on Dumbledore's order more or less, too. Sirius only sits in Azkaban because Dumbledore set him up. He then went to have him sent to prison without even so much as a trial. He did it so I was left without any other possible guardians – which, by the way is not true, as my parents have set up wills and trust funds for a whole list of possible magical guardians, one of the surviving ones is you, one is Minerva McGonagall, one is Augusta Longbottom just to name a few, but Dumbledore in his function as the head of the Wizengamot had those wills sealed until I would come around and ask for them. He knew he couldn't deny that right to me, but since I was stuck in Privet Drive knowing nothing about anything I never had so much as an idea of any existing, non-executed wills of my parents. In fact I never learned about them until I received a letter from Gringotts after Dumbledore's death, asking me to claim my inheritance. I wanted to but then we went on the Horcrux hunt and I never got there for two years."

"Horcrux hunt?" I whisper.

"Oh yes, Horcruxes. Dumbledore knew all along about Voldemort's means of immortality. Looks like you've already heard of them?"

"I have read about some people having made a Horcrux to survive, but none of them has ever truly come back. I know that Voldemort isn't completely dead, just like these people aren't, but they have to be brought back by someone, they cannot do it alone."

"That someone in my previous life was Wormtail, Remus, he brought Voldemort back using my blood, taken by force – and believe me, if I had known that I would have given it freely, it would have weakened Voldemort significantly! – flesh from his servant, willingly given, and bone remnants from Voldemort's father. A horrible ritual! And one that could have been easily avoided if Dumbledore hadn't let the Death Eater at Hogwarts in Alastor Moody disguise enter me into a Triwizard Tournament. I don't even know where to start the list of things I could, should have noticed of Dumbledore's manipulations concerning me. I got invitation letters to Hogwarts, in their hundreds, but my uncle kept me from reading even one of them. In the end Dumbledore sent Hagrid to give me my letter and take me shopping, carefully avoiding any closer contact I might get to the magical world. I wasn't very studious then, Moony, because back at the Dursleys' I was punished every time I brought home a better mark on a test than Dudley. Which means that just about every test I wrote I had to underachieve, because Dudley is really, really stupid. I mean really dumb. He never worked either. I would have loved to work for school, but they quickly beat that out of me. A very good fortune for Dumbledore, because me being inhibited, almost retarded, not asking questions, trying to solve every problem I came across myself and as stealthily I could, all things that were plus points in Dumbledore's favour and big, big negative points where I was concerned. In my eyes he looked like my saviour from that horrible place where I had grown up and I fell for it, hook, line and sinker. How should I have had the maturity to know? Or even to suspect? Only when I started to look back did I see the patterns. There were dozens of signs, dozens of little events that gave me hints, but I could only see them as manipulations once I established the connections between the events, myself and Dumbledore. But when I realised that it was too late."

I nod. It all looks sensible and logical. I already start to take mental notes of how to proceed. Harry says quietly:

"He may notice I'm out of his hands by the time I nailed my proper guardianship down. We will have to go to Gringotts together and get those wills out of my parents' vaults. The goblins will give me what's mine, of that I'm certain. It's proper business behaviour after all and while they are really hot for anything gold they're also painstakingly correct. They know it's against magical law to keep the magical inheritance from a member of an Old House. And as you know the Potters are about as Noble and Most Ancient as they come about. I know that Dumbledore was trying to get my line annihilated to get a nibble at their fortune. The Dumbledores were upstarts compared to even the Malfoys who are certainly nowhere near as old a family as the Potters."

"In fact, in England they only go back a few generations. That's why they don't even have a title of Noble, let alone Most Ancient here in England, much to Lucius' chagrin. They came from France at the time of the Huguenot rebellions and were able to get out with all their money and valuables. 1684 that was, shortly before the Edict of Nantes was recalled by Louis XIV. Which means that if caught they would not only have been tried for being magical, but also for being members of the Reformed Church."

"Ah! That explains a lot. I suppose not even Fudge would be able to give him that title."

"No, that would have to be the Wizengamot, but while Lucius keeps close contacts to Ministry officials he has only a small influence on the Wizengamot. That doesn't mean too much as most of the Wizengamot members are dead old and not too bothered about taking money for votes. And many of them are also associated with the pureblood agenda."

"Well, it may come as a shock to you, but I plan on actually eliminating a whole number of people. And by eliminating I mean just that. Only it will look like accidents. In the past three days I have devised a number of occasions where everyone who was cleared on the claim of being Imperiused will be taken out of the equation. They are all of them members of Voldemort's inner circle and every one of them has committed numerous murders and tortured numerous people. They will simply vanish off the face of the earth while Dumbledore still believes me to be safely at Privet Drive."

"I'm with you all the way, Harry. And then we'll get Padfoot out of that hole!"

"Yes. But unfortunately he'll probably have to sit it out for another year. He'll manage, Remus, we'll help him soon to get stronger. He'll get out of there as soon as we can clear his name. I just have to do a few things before that can happen. Together we'll be able to take out the last obstacles before this magical world can rebuild itself – Dumbledore and about ten of the top Ministry personnel are among them. We'll have the element of surprise and some cleverness on our part will make it possible and not at all too difficult. Once I have my inheritance we'll do two things: we get rid of the Horcruxes, the ones we can, that is, and we'll get rid of the Death Eater scum. As soon as that's done we'll get Sirius out and clear my guardian. And then we proceed to take on the remaining idiots."

I have to smile. He really has big plans. To be honest I'm scared shitless, but he has invaluable knowledge about people and items we need to take care of. I'm probably one of only a handful of people around here who know about the existence of the ghastly thing that's a Horcrux. If Harry knows what they are, where they are and how they can be destroyed then we stand a good chance of getting rid of them. And by the looks of it he knows that exactly.

"What are the Horcruxes? Hell, even to know he's made more than one makes me sick!"

"It does, doesn't it? Well, rest assured that we're two of about ten or twelve people who even know about Horcruxes, and that makes this part much, much easier. It needs to go hand in hand in taking out the Death Eaters and some inquiries we can only make once some of them are gone."

"What are they? And how many are we talking?"

"He's attempted to make seven parts of his soul – six in Horcruxes and the remaining part in his body, which is now a spirit, inhabiting animals and occasionally people. I don't know if you already know that to make a Horcrux it takes committing cold-blooded murder and a ritual following the murder immediately. Half of the soul in the murderer's body will then be split away to go into the Horcrux. It is to be assumed that he made five before I finished him off temporarily. That means that Voldemort is left with a 32nd of his soul. No wonder he looks like a snake, is it? Dumbledore thinks that the scar on my head is an accidental Horcrux, but I know that this is a lie. The main reason that this is impossible is that the ritual has to be done AFTER the murder, not before; he was dead before he could even utter a word and without the ritual there's no Horcrux. More information Dumbledore withheld when he told me about them. Another reason is the protection I got from mum's sacrifice. She offered her life to Voldemort and he fell for it easily, not recognising that by sacrificing herself for me she put a protection on me he wouldn't be able to break. That's about the only thing Dumbledore got right: Voldemort does not understand, nor does he want to understand, the concept of love. He thinks he has it right to say that there's no good or bad, there's only power and you have to have the courage to use that power to make you better. Only he doesn't feel better, he feels as rubbish as he has all his life, but that's neither here nor there – he'll have to be resurrected only to be killed instantly. Maybe that's not even necessary, the spirit might be a goner if all of his Horcruxes are destroyed, but again I'd rather err on the side of caution."

I'm stunned. I never knew that about Lily! But it fits my friend who was a kindred spirit in many ways. We studied together and we did that well! Had I not fallen in love with Sirius she would have been the one I might have gone for. She was the only one in Gryffindor tower who knew about my werewolf and didn't care. It didn't stop her from regularly demanding that I reign in my friends, but I turned a deaf ear and blind eye to that, as Prongs usually only went after people who were poison to the rest of the world. She came to that conclusion herself once he managed to actually behave when she was around. I'm just musing about this as Harry says:

"You know what the worst thing was? Knowing that Dumbledore protected Snape from any prosecution and letting him run free to maltreat every student at Hogwarts that wasn't a Slytherin while Sirius was stuck at Azkaban hardly remembering what day it was. It was so unjust I'm still screaming inside! And the top of the horror was when Snape told me that Dumbledore thought I was a Horcrux and I had to die in order for the Horcrux to be destroyed. And then he even went on to say how he loved my mum and wanted her for himself!!!! It still makes me vomit! Turns my stomach every time I even think about it. And I took the bait, went out and allowed him to kill me. In truth, when he did use Avada Kedavra on me it was my mum's protection again that saved me, only this time, and I think it's because there was my blood running through his veins I was really dead for a moment. He never knew what hit him when I came back alive and rather spoiled his triumph."

Stunned again. Every little bit that Harry tells me makes me aware of the lie I have been living with these past years. I can't believe how I could have been so blind!

"Harry, I can't believe how I couldn't see at least some of this. It's a real insult to my mental abilities that I have never so much as suspected a teensy bit to be out of place…"

"Remus, that has nothing to do with your mental abilities! You are brilliant, but you have been exposed to Dumbledore's spells and maybe potions. No one has done anything of their own free will in his service, and some people are probably worse off than you. We'll want to have a close look at Professor McGonagall, as she's been hit almost daily! Once the love potions stopped hindering me I started to look for things and found out a lot. I helped Minerva out of these spells, and she was as appalled as you are, or even worse. She was devastated! She helped me a lot in the last years and she was the only one apart from Hermione whom I told that I was going to end it. I plan to send her an owl to meet me when I get my Hogwarts letter. We'll get her own self back and she'll be free to make her own decisions from then on. Professors Flitwick and Sprout were just as badly hit as she was, and also Poppy Pomfrey, even though he didn't go as heavy on her as he went after the others. They have been hit with obliviation spells as soon as they asked a question that sounded like they had a suspicion versus Dumbledore. He's a master Legilimens and Occlumens as well as a master in using the obliviation spells. No one casts compulsion spells as well as he does and none would last longer and held their victims tighter than his, believe me, I've been there, done it and bought the t-shirt."

"That's horrible, Harry!"

"It is. I'm sorry I can't get Fawkes out of there yet! But he may actually still listen to me, because I'm the companion he actually looked for when Dumbledore started to go down the path he chose. – Fawkes!"

A few seconds later the big bird that I remember so well from my own school days flashes in! But my what a sad view he is. It's probably just before a burning day, but as he sings to greet Harry and me he looks so sad! It pains me to recognise that this is probably proof of what Harry's saying.

"Fawkes, can you tell me if it's true that Albus Dumbledore has placed a compulsion on you that binds you to him?"

I get images of Dumbledore's office almost as it looked when I went to school. I look around those images and see a calendar that shows the date: 22nd October 1976. An alarm flash goes up in my mind – the date has a certain significance, but what was it? Now I remember – it was the day when Lily gave in to James and agreed to become his girlfriend, when she actually gave room to the love she had felt for a while. I see in those images how Dumbledore lifts his wand to cast the fateful spells on the bird. Fawkes is normally quite immune to magic cast on him but for the strongest of curses, so this one must have been a very powerful one. Fawkes then shows us a few images that would go on to be very helpful in our plans indeed. One of them proves that he intended to find Harry when he would be free of the compulsion. Harry and I stare at the bird, then at one another.

"Fawkes, I'm telling you here and now that I intend to deceitfully eliminate people in the near future. Even though these are people that need to be taken out in order to give this world a possibility to change to the better, it will still basically be murder. I will feel awful about it because I don't want to kill, but if we do not get these people out of the world indefinitely they will continue to make the lives of many innocent and good people hell."

Fawkes looks like he's grinning now. He then shows us an image of a Wizengamot with people who constructively work on building the world in a good and fair atmosphere.

"This is how it should be, isn't it?" I ask.

Fawkes nods and trills.

"Are they all poisoned?"

A definite shake of Fawkes' head is followed by the image of everyone in the Wizengamot he trusts. There are, all in all, about 60 people. As far as I know there are about 120 members of the Wizengamot, but the number fluctuates between 110 and 160, depending on the body's decisions on new nominations. If they go under 110 they will appoint new families to send in their representatives. If it weren't for the werewolf my own family would have held a seat as well. About 15 seats were held open for orphaned children to grow up and take over, one of them is Harry's. Some seats are held in proxy, either appointed by the holder or appointed by the wills of deceased members. I recognise most of the people on the good side, and note down their names. As soon as Fawkes notices he slows down and gives me the images again. The list is quite long and I can't identify all of them, but I should recognise them immediately when I go and follow a public session. Most of the sessions can be publicly accessed, so it won't be a problem of identifying these members.

Next is a series of images of members that we know not to trust. They are the worst actually, because they will be the wolves in sheep's' clothes. They will follow every leader who gives them what they really want and the most they want is money. They will sell their votes to the one who offers them most of it, regardless of their own desires. 26 of these people are burned into my mind. The next group is the large group of conservatives who would never align themselves openly with organisations like the Death Eaters, but who would sponsor them without thinking, because they have the same kind of horrible beliefs. For years they've prepared the ground on the political side. I know many of them. Too many. Roughly fifty of them are in the chamber.

"I think we have a problem in the political department, Harry. I count about fifty conservative Voldemort supporters and about 26 who have to be bought. That's normally a small advantage over the reliable light families…"

"More accidents. Fifteen of them are actually marked Death Eaters. Never even tried for anything. Just went on after the first war as if nothing had changed. Lapped up any kind of legislation that would hinder magical creatures or Muggle-born witches or wizards or squibs."

I close my eyes. That would have to be a lot of accidents… but Fawkes seems to accept the fate of some of the current Wizengamot members with ease.

"No worries, Remus, I do not plan to leave any bodies. What I plan to do is to transfigure them into little matchboxes – and keep them feeling the matches lit on their sides. I plan to do this so long until they start taking the right kind of decisions. Decisions that will help everyone not just the purebloods. I never understood why the others never stood up to those legislations. Taxes under Fudge have risen to crippling heights and business in Diagon Alley has gone down considerably. People can't afford to buy and businesses hardly make any profits at all because Fudge is calling it all in to the Ministry. All the while no one sees any changes anywhere and people start wondering where it all goes. And still don't really protest."

"I bet that a lot of it lands in the Minister's personal coffers. I'd love to have him pick up a few drops of Veritaserum to hear what he's done in the past few years. He has become Minister one year ago, when Millicent Bagnold retired. She was a good woman, Harry, and worked hard, but she couldn't go on, she was getting a bit too old, you know. And when she retired and Dumbledore refused to take over it was between Fudge and Malfoy…"

"I can imagine the rest, Moony. And while Malfoy didn't get the job he successfully bought the one who did. Fudge is firmly placed in Malfoy's pockets."

Fawkes is staying on for a while and I notice that he looks considerably better just until he has to leave. His feathers droop and he goes back to looking morosely.

"Heads up, Fawkes, we're going to break that spell!" Harry promises.

With a happy trill the phoenix leaves. I don't expect that Dumbledore knows he's gone away, as he lets the bird free reign to come and go as he pleases.

"Remus, do you know how to procure a house-elf?" Harry asks me.

"I do. But I'm not one to go out and buy a living sentient being, Harry."

"I won't do more than that. I need one to help me get to places without having to apparate myself. I don't want the Ministry to find out about my mobility and ask stupid questions. A house-elf could pop me here and there without a problem."

"Oh. That's a valid point. It could help you with other things; house-elves have strong magic."

"Exactly – and if they're treated well they will do everything for their wizards or witches. I fully intend to become friends with the elf that's coming my way."

"There are regular sales at the Ministry. I could ask someone who would be inconspicuous at such a sale. But it will have to wait until after our visit at Gringotts."

"Tomorrow. I should probably return to Durzkaban now or they will start to miss me. Skipped school, you know."

He grins.

"Well, since you've already gone to school I can let it pass. I'm very glad to have met you now, Harry, I really look forward to learning to know you better and to spend more time with you."

"So do I, Moony! You're every bit as brilliant as dad described you in his diary."

I open my arms and he actually comes and lets me hug him. He hugs me back and smiles.

"It's so good to have real family again, Remus," he whispers.

"Soon you'll be free of them. Do you want me to transfer the charms on you on a box or something, to be left at your relative's place?"

He nods into my robes. I pick up my wand, release him from the embrace and step back a little to get an idea over the spells on him. I'm shocked to find seven different spells! The first is a spell that holds his magic on a minimum level. Harry will easily learn spells, but he'll have a hard time applying them in practice! The next is a power limitation spell that I remove immediately! The next is a health-checking spell, which I redirect onto a small piece of crockery. The next is another spell that shocks me. It causes Harry's relatives to become aggressive when speaking to him. They were even forced to do it, but all the while they were so unpleasant already naturally that it's a miracle that Harry is still among us! There are two tracking charms. All three are directed onto the little stoneware vase I chose. The last spell is the one that strikes me as the worst of them all: a curse that causes Harry to have a lot of bad luck! I remove and redirect that as well, but not on the vase, I take a metal piece for that. Wouldn't want the vase to fall down and break, releasing all the spells on it. Dumbledore would be onto us in no time!

"Harry, how often were you away from the Dursleys?"

"Not very often, and never further than school…"

I quickly redirect all spells from the vase to the copper spoon I've used for the bad luck spell. I hand him the spoon and explain:

"If you put that in your pocket he'll never notice you're not really at Privet Drive while you still go to school…"

"Not very long anymore. I'll leave it there tomorrow and we'll go to Gringotts, okay?"

"That's fine with me, Harry. Will you come here?"

"Yes, I will. I can apparate occasionally without being discovered. No danger of splinching myself, I assure you."

"I thought so, having the mind and abilities of a 35 year old inside of you should work out just fine," I say, smiling.

I watch him apparate away and then I sit down, completely exhausted from all that I've heard today.

What stuck most apart from all the details Harry has given me is that Sirius is in Azkaban, and innocent! It breaks my heart to know that. I can hardly stand to sit here and not rush out to do something that would save my love! I have to force myself to be patient, to trust Harry. Which, I have to admit, is very, very hard to do after what he told me about Dumbledore.

We'll have to be very Slytherin to find ways to twist this world around. I think about all I've heard today. I think I have to note the details down and charm a piece of parchment to small slips, where I note all those little scraps of knowledge. It helps me to sort them out and put them in different connections. That again allows me to draw conclusions from the facts I have on hand. I'm off this afternoon to see which of them I can quietly verify.

Before I do that I check my whole cottage, and myself, for tracking and spying charms. I can hardly believe that I find ten different spying charms and of course a tracking charm on myself. I quickly redirect the tracking charm and I'll have to think of something that we can do about the spying charms. They're real-time charms, Dumbledore would have to have been there to actually gain knowledge from them, but that is still horrid to know. I can only hope he's been out somewhere and not in his office when Harry and I talked this morning or our venture is doomed before it started.

* * * * *

Rainbow Cottage, New Forest – 18.06.1989

(Remus)

I still smart over my excursion of yesterday afternoon. I bet that Dumbledore thought I was stupid. I know I trusted him ever since he was the one who let me into the school. His grandfatherly image was obviously always deceitful, and his generosity probably is a mask as well. I am more than glad that as a werewolf I'm naturally protected from any attempt of Legilimency, which is why he probably had to forego that with me. But the way Harry described him he used it on students all the time. What did Harry say? When he twinkles and tells you he believes you he's just had a good ole rummage through your head… what a terrible thought.

I'll have to move out of here as soon as I can! It will be easy to be cleaned once Dumbledore is out of the picture, but until then I'll have to leave my parental home behind me. It makes me sad because of all the good memories I have here…

I can hear the apparition wards. I quickly summon my purse and go outside, where I greet Harry.

"Best we take off again immediately, Harry, I've detected a series of spying charms around the house. No idea what could be in the garden!"

And with that we apparate directly to the Gringotts apparition point. Harry is wearing a baseball cap, too big for his head, but ideal to cover up his telltale scar. We wait in the queue at one of the tellers' booths and when we get there, Harry says:

"Hello! I'm Harry Potter and I've come to claim my Potter inheritance."

The goblin gets up and stares Harry down. He checks him and only when Harry lifts the cap slightly, he recognises the scar.

"Very well then – do you have your key, sir?"

"I'm sorry, the key to my trust vault probably sits in Albus Dumbledore's office."

"And what's it doing there?"

"No idea. Probably being bored out of its head if it has one. Sir, I need to gain access to my parents' vaults, I need to get to their wills. Would I be able to talk to Toothgrinder about it? I know he's my parents' Gringotts caretaker."

"I would think that's possible in any case, Mr. Potter. May I direct you directly to his office at the back? I'll inform him that you are coming."

"Thank you, sir!"

We are sent to an office in the back part of the bank and when we reach it are welcomed inside by the goblin Toothgrinder.

"Welcome to Gringotts, Mr. Potter, I'm happy that you are already showing up. I'm not sure if you are aware of the fact that Mr. Albus Dumbledore has taken care of your accounts since your parents' deaths…"

"It's even worse than I thought then. Has he taken anything?"

"No, not really. We have been able to cut his access to the vaults. But he's been giving us unsolicited advice how to invest the money within. Had we followed his advice then I believe you wouldn't be destitute but not much of your money would actually be left."

"Well, come to think of it I'm not astonished. Toothgrinder, there is a reason why I'm coming already."

Harry explains his adventures to the goblin, who listens and actually grinds his teeth in a very menacing way at the end of Harry's tale.

"Mr. Potter, I believe you and I know I can probably trust you and your story, but to make sure and to make this absolutely fully legal and airtight, would you mind to undergo the inheritance ritual? It is a ritual that will determine your ancestry by goblin means, it's not painful in any way and it's recognised and accepted by the wizard authorities."

"I'm ready, Toothgrinder. What do I have to do?"

"Not much. All we need is a bit of your blood, which will then be applied on a special piece of parchment. You might know that next to your Ministry Gringotts is also keeping records of every magical person born – not only in Britain, but in the whole world. Every branch has its own records. If we need information about a certain person we are able to get it from any of our branches. The wizards aren't too happy about it but they have to recognise it if we are to conduct clean business practices. We have to be able to ascertain that a person is the person they claim to be when they seek services from the bank. Normally that works easily with the keys, but keys can be stolen, therefore we are able to conduct tests if we believe that a key does not belong to the person who brings it in."

"That's fine then, Toothgrinder. I gladly provide the blood," Harry says with a smile.

The parchment is not only a simple enchanted parchment. It seems to be hundreds of years old and not only shows that Harry is who he claims to be he is; it also shows his ancestry right down the line to Godric Gryffindor. Obviously the male Gryffindor line died out a few hundred years ago, but a daughter was just as able to inherit, therefore, after several turns in the 12th century, the Potter line became the primary family heirs of Godric Gryffindor and his wife, Rowena Ravenclaw. It actually shows that Rowena married twice – after Godric's death she remarried and created another line of her own heirs.

Over one thousand years of Harry's ancestors are lined up on this parchment. Harry follows the family tree with his fingers, moving here and there and is shown other branches and relatives as he moves to the respective names. Auntie Dorea for example, leads him over to Sirius' family and shows him that he was actually one of the closest Black relatives after Sirius. I'm sure Sirius would know about that.

"Well, that's all the proof we need. I send this to my assistant to make an imprint for the Ministry, should they care to ask. They cannot overrule old magical law and a head of house cannot be kept apart from his or her inheritance."

Harry nods and thanks Toothgrinder. They go into the vault and bring forth James and Lily's last wills, which we read together. The content is known to Harry, but surprises me to no end when there is a legate to me by both, James and Lily. I receive 100'000 Galleons from James, a huge amount of money, which I only accept because I can't throw them back to James as he happens to be dead. Lily left me something much more personal, a charm bracelet that I had given her when she became head girl at Hogwarts. From then on I added a little charm for each birthday and Christmas and to Harry's birth and first birthday.

"This is very sweet, Remus!" says Harry.

"It makes me cry all over again at their loss, Harry. They were so close, and we were so close, I've never again met anyone I let in so deep as I let in Sirius, James and Lily. Only my parents knew me as well as they did."

"You'll find that you still have and find loads of friends, Remus. Some of them have received the Dumbledore treatment and are incapable to know of you. Most of them are old Order members like Hestia Jones, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Emmeline Vance. I would think even Mad-Eye Moody should still be around you, he thought highly of you, you know. Who knows what Dumbledore did to him! He wasn't that easy to catch…"

"Dumbledore is a goner if he actually did something to Alastor and Alastor found out! He wouldn't hesitate a moment to get the old man and nibble a few bites out of him."

"I'd bet. He liked me, too, don't know why, because he still called me out for carrying my wand in my back pocket."

Harry doesn't take much from the vault. He uses my wand and calls:

"Accio dad's Invisibility Cloak!"

Nothing moves. He shrugs his shoulders and says:

"I thought it wouldn't be here. The old bugger took it from dad to 'study' it – but in truth he knew it's one of the Peverells' Deathly Hallows."

"It is? Then anyone underneath is truly invisible! Wow, I knew it was old, but not that it's that old."

"Yeah, it is. I also know where and what the other things are."

"Well, they're a wand and a ring. I don't know if it is wise to try to bring them together. You would truly conquer death with them."

"I don't think that would be wise. I would like to neutralise the wand though – at least. But on to other things…"

The first of these things is the information about Potter Manor, which comes in the form of a ring. He is told to wear the ring to get the knowledge of the manor.

"Your father had invoked the old magic to hide the manor completely when he went into hiding. He came to me and placed this ring in the vault, and he told me to keep this hidden until either he or you would come back to claim it. I would have informed a possible successor of this had I not been here anymore. In any case you should go back to the manor to take possession of it. I'm sure you'd have good sources of information there."

Harry puts the ring on his finger and we watch as it adjusts to his size. He looks at us with a pleased expression.

"I really don't know how it works, but now I know that this is a Portkey and will take us to the manor, Remus. All we need is to get you out of your cottage. Shame though, it looks like a real home…"

For that comment alone I could kiss him. What a sweet kid! He may have the mind of a 35 year old, but here in front of me he's also still a child. And he will need lots of love and support, which I vow in this moment to give him unconditionally.

He asks the goblin about house-elves and is told that Gringotts could actually help him to find one instantly. Harry agrees and we're shown to a part of Gringotts where some house-elves are called in for Harry to find one. All the ones he calls in are in the best of health and look fine to me, probably all of them are treated well.

Harry looks at them all and calls them closer.

"Hello, dears! I can see that you're all very fine people, but for the moment I can only engage one of you. Who would like to come and work for me?"

Maybe it's because Harry is still a small kid and hardly taller than the little elves, but as he stands in the midst of them all they flock to him. I stand next to the goblin and look at him, he looks back at me and we both grin at the picture.

"Not a house-elf that will be mistreated, I take it," says Toothgrinder.

"I'm sure not. He has a huge heart, the little one," I confirm.

"It still will be good for him to have a house-elf as a companion. They're easily the most loyal when they're treated well."

"Harry is well aware of that. He loves his house-elves. He will take their service, but he'll insist they're friends and even family."

"Good."

Harry seems to have difficulties making a decision. The chance to work for the famous Harry Potter is naturally a great incentive to prove themselves worthy, so the elves want to present themselves in their best way.

"Oh, I wish I could take you all with me, all three of you, but I have to pick."

He takes the hands of one of them and looks closely at it.

"What's your name?"

"Dinky, Master."

"Dinky, what can you do best?"

"Dinky is good cook, Master Potter. Is good at cleaning, too."

"Thank you, Dinky."

Harry goes through them all and the next one answers his question for his name:

"I is Noodles, Master."

"Oh dear, who would give you such a name? That must have been a very unkind person."

"I is Elfling of Dobby, Master, the Mistress is be giving me for sale and Dobby says I is lucky to get out of his Mistress' hands."

"What can you do well, Noodles?"

"I is also good at cleaning, but not yet at cooking. I can do cleaning very quickly. Can do looking after Master's wardrobe and personal needs, too."

So he's come from the Malfoy household. Great, he really has been lucky. I suppose he didn't look so well when he came to the goblins' possession. Harry seems to have found his elf in any case as he takes Noodles by his hands again.

"I think I'd like to get this one, Toothgrinder. He sounds like a good elf that I can train up. And he seems to want to come and work for me."

Noodles nods enthusiastically. He even quivers with excitement. And he makes me smile. I bet he's already devoted to Harry before he is even bought. It's a horrible feeling to know that these wonderful creatures are traded like goods. They all have feelings and so much more to give than just their work. Harry knows that and that's why he's choosing so carefully.

"Very well, you two can return to your places and you stay here, Noodles."

"How much do I pay for him, sir?" Harry asks.

"85 Galleons should do fine. He's not very well trained yet and very young. We've only had him for a few weeks."

"That's fine, you can charge it to my trust vault then. Can we return to your office, I have more questions to ask you."

"Of course, Mr. Potter. You can come along, Noodles. – You're right, Mr. Potter, it IS a ridiculous name."

"Well, we'll just have to find something better then, won't we, Noodles?"

"If Master wants Noodles called differently then it shall be so, Master," the elfling said politely.

"You should want it, too! To give you a name that's at best suited for a cat! It's downright cruel. I bet you've been made fun of about it. Will you think of a name you'd like to have?"

"Noodles may choose a name? Master is too good to Noodles."

"You may choose!"

As we reach the office again, the little elf tells Harry that he'd like to be called James and Harry accepts the choice. Toothgrinder oversees the bonding ritual between the Master and the elf, which doesn't take long. Then Harry sits down and asks Toothgrinder:

"Toothgrinder, it is absolutely imperative that nothing of the following is noted down anywhere or told anyone! Can you promise that?"

"You can speak openly and in full confidentiality here, Mr. Potter. As long as you do not propose illegal actions you are guaranteed our complete and utter discretion."

"Well then. Do you have knowledge of what a Horcrux is, Toothgrinder?"

The goblin's eyes open wide and he stares at Harry with a horrified look.

"I take it you do then. If I told you that there is a Horcrux in a Gringotts vault what would you do?"

"You are putting me in a difficult situation, Mr. Potter! A Horcrux! And you say there's one in a Gringotts vault?"

"The vault in question belongs to Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange to be precise. They're both locked up in Azkaban, as you know very well – for life. They have no legal heir other than Rabastan Lestrange who sits in Azkaban as well. For life, too."

"It would normally go to the nearest head of house's possession, Mr. Potter. In their case that would be another Azkaban inmate though."

"If he were innocent and if it could be proven, what would happen then?"

"Oh, he'd actually get everything related to the Black family that's not owned by someone else."

"Good. That's all I needed to know. We have to get to this Horcrux legally to destroy the spirit inside."

"May I inquire whether you know who made the item?" Toothgrinder asks.

"You may. And I'll tell you, but remind you of the necessity of being discreet about it - especially towards one Albus Dumbledore. It was Lord Voldemort."

He gasps.

"He's not gone completely then, is he? I always thought he was just powerless, but if he has a Horcrux I understand why the rebound spell didn't fully kill him."

Harry nods. I sigh and am relieved that he doesn't try to get at the Horcrux yet. But Toothgrinder takes it up again.

"If I would be allowed to talk to Ragnok about the Horcrux… it's You-Know-Who's Horcrux, after all, none of us goblins would want him to come back! Maybe I would then receive the consent to take something out of a vault."

"Yes, I think we can go that far, don't you agree, Remus?"

"I do. Under no circumstances we'd want to do anything illegal. I know Sirius Black better than anyone else and he'd want you to give this thing to be destroyed in any case. I have only just learned from Harry that he is innocent and how we can get him out of the prison."

"That would facilitate things. You'd think he wouldn't accuse us of stealing from his vaults?"

"No way!" Harry said.

"I don't believe so at all. He'd congratulate you to a prank well executed rather than accuse you!" I confirm. "Actually the way I know him he'd probably do anything to have one up of this particular cousin of his. He hates her."

"Very well, I shall bring it to the attention of the Gringotts director and I'm sure we'll be in contact with you about it soon. Does this conclude your business or do you need anything else?"

"Nothing else, sir, thank you. I have what I need most urgently. Just a question. Can I send my elf to Gringotts, too, if I need any fresh cash?"

"Of course. You just need to accredit James with us as one of your intermediaries."

"I can do that right now. As I'm not supposed to know anything about the magical world yet I would like to stay out of Diagon Alley for as much as I possibly can. Can't be seen where I'm not supposed to be if I don't want to give away my game now, can I?"

"You would not be well advised, sir. You may leave with your Portkey from out of my own office."

"Great, thank you very much for your time, Toothgrinder."

With that the newly baptised James and I touch Harry's family ring and we're all taken to his old family home.

It's another thing I have completely forgotten. The moment James put it under the family secret charm the memory of his childhood home slid from my brain and I never even missed it. Now that I see it again it all comes flooding back. Harry stares at it. I know how big it is, but he's looking at it and shakes his head.

"I always wondered why my parents didn't stay hidden in here. No matter whether it is known or not, the Fidelius should have covered it just as well as any other house. I wonder what Dumbledore told them to make them leave…"

Before I can reply there's the rustle of a few little people and no less than six house-elves come out from different directions and one of them cries:

"Master Harry! Master Harry is back! Oh what a wonderful day it is, our dear sweet Master Harry is back! – But why is you bringing another house-elf in?"

We both stare and Harry groans.

"Oh, why have I been so stupid to forget about the fact that a whole bunch of house-elves are still here? Oh, what the heck, you'll just find friendly family here, James. May I be reminded of your names, dears?"

I remember Sally, who seems to have taken the lead of the bunch. The other five are Blossom, Dalli, Gregory, Jumper and Gilly.

"Thanks! It seems that you are a bit of the leader here, Sally? Could you take care of James, so that he may find accommodation and integrate him into your daily schedules?" Harry asks.

"Yes, Master, of course. Is you going to stay here?"

"Yes, I will stay here. I will need some of you to help me get around, and especially get around unseen. If it were for headmaster Dumbledore I shouldn't even know about this place…"

"If it were for this monster you would be dead as well as your parents, Master Harry, let's be frank here," Sally cries.

James looks at her, astounded that she dares to talk back. He backs away from Harry, obviously expecting punishment for the outbreak of the other house-elf. Harry turns to him and declares:

"To all of you who were ever asked to punish yourselves: I will NOT do anything of the sort. You are NOT to go about punishing yourselves at all. Never. If you do think you've done something wrong your punishment will be telling me. I will decide if further punishment is really needed, but I don't think it ever will be. This is an order and one that I mean most seriously. Okay?"

"Yes, Master!"

Sally grins. Obviously she's not afraid to have her own opinion. I quickly tell her to take good care of James, because he's been born in the Malfoy household.

"Oh dear! You is poor soul! I have heard how elves are treated there. You will be very happy here. We is working much, but we is being friends with family."

"Friends who will be part of the family, eat with the family, celebrate holidays with the family and be there with the family," Harry insists.

"You is already best of Masters, Master Harry!" James says.

"Well then. Can you prepare us rooms and can one of you help Master Remus to relocate his possessions to the manor?"

They practically jump on me to be helpful. I smile and pick four of them.

"With four of you we'll have the moving done quickly enough."

Together we return to Rainbow cottage, where I disable the spying charms. The house-elves gather everything I point out to them. I pick up my cats and put them in cat carriers and call for my owl. He doesn't like it, but he has to go into the cage for the transport. The books and my clothes, and the content of my loft goes into crates and are taken back to the manor one by one by the elves who come in and pop back until everything has been moved that I need. When I get back to the manor I find Harry in the entrance hall talking to one of the portraits. It is the one of Harry's grandfather and grandmother, Charlus and Dorea Potter. It is currently adorning the space above the grand fireplace. A few older family members are displayed throughout the corridor. We see some movement and then a painted James comes running into his parents' portrait.

"Is it true? I heard that Harry has come home?" he cries.

"Yes, James, here he is! Looks just like you, with Lily's eyes!"

"Harry!" that's Lily's sweet voice.

"Hello, mum, dad!" Harry says.

"Harry, dear! Where have you been? You were supposed to grow up here, but years have gone by and you never showed up… oh, hello, Remus. Where have you been and where's Sirius?"

"It's a long story, Lily. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Writing up our wills. I think James still remembers taking them to Gringotts."

"Okay, you've got most of the knowledge you need then."

"Well, we obviously heard about us being killed and Harry orphaned. But other than that this has been like a bloody grave in here," James cries.

"Language, James!" both, wife and mother chide.

James only grins. How it hurts to see his painted careless self in front of me. He looks at me and sobers quickly.

"You must have had hard times, Remus. You look horrible. Where's Siri?"

"They threw him in Azkaban… rather, Dumbledore had him thrown in Azkaban, so he didn't have to contend with him having custody of Harry. We have the means now to get him freed though."

"How old are you, Harry?"

"Eight. It's June now, so I'll be nine soon."

"Why have you waited for so many years without having done anything, Moony?" James screams.

"Dad, he didn't know anything. Dumbledore's obliviated him of practically everything he knew about you guys and Sirius! He hardly remembered you were even his friends let alone that Sirius was his partner. Scream at Dumbledore if you like, but Remus is not at fault, dad!"

"Oh Remus! Dumbledore? How could he do this to you?"

"I can only imagine that he wanted even more glory than he already has. Or more power, or whatever. It could be that he's simply greedy for money or fame. I wouldn't know, James. I couldn't believe he'd abuse me like that."

"Gulping Gargoyles, what kind of a rotten egg is he turning out to be?"

"Very rotten. He's dropped Harry on your sister's doorstep, Lily, and just left him there not even looking back!"

"Aaargh! You were right, James! I'm so sorry I didn't believe you when you started to doubt him!"

"That's water under the bridge, dear Lily, we need to think ahead now," Charlus throws in.

And that's what we do. We really can't trust anybody. I first need to get in contact with Augusta Longbottom to see what she thinks of the situation. She's always been independent and has probably been able to keep Dumbledore out of her house.

**Potter Manor, 19.06.1989**

Harry goes and looks for the family Pensieve, which he soon finds and brings to the great hall, where we have taken station. He asks for my wand and I give it to him. We'll have to get him a wand of his own soon. No magic can be monitored in this house he can use any wand he likes. He digs deep down in his memories and takes some from the earliest months of his life. We go in to have a look at the memories.

The first one is a nice one showing him playing with his dad and another shows him in my care and in that of Sirius, both take place before they go into hiding. There are several with all four of us Marauders and now I notice that every time he's with Peter he either throws up on him, wants to get away or cries. I suppose that was why Peter never wanted to pick him up once he was a few months old. This is amazing to see. Harry knew that something with Peter was off. And then we get to the defining few memories. Since he was so small they let him stay in the room when Dumbledore was coming to visit.

_They discuss the Fidelius charm._

"_I believe you said you could cast the charm, Lily?"_

"_I certainly can, Albus."_

"_And you insist on Sirius being the Secret Keeper?"_

"_Sirius would die for us, Albus, but we switched to Peter. You are the only one we told though. No one should know about the switch. Sirius is ready to be the decoy."_

"_Very well, that adds security. I will part from you then. Good luck to you both!"_

How false can you get? He has insisted that Sirius was the Secret Keeper and that's what has led them to throw him into Azkaban without a trial!!! I could scream all over again!

_The fateful night. Harry is in the kitchen, Lily has obviously just fed him and he's still busy playing with something while Lily cleans up with a few quick spells. There's a heavy knock on the door. James looks out of it and screams:_

"_Lily! Run! It's him! Take Harry and run! I'll try to hold him off until you're gone!"_

_Lily tears Harry out of the high chair and runs up the stairs in the back of the house while the door is opened with force. James puts up a fight like a cat, but a stunner from Peter when he's concentrated on duelling Voldemort helps Voldemort to simply apply the Killing curse. It's all audible from downstairs as Lily fights to get out with Harry. She can't apparate. So she places Harry in the cot and stands guard before it, her wand drawn. Voldemort comes inside and orders her to get away. She first tries to plead for Harry's life, then tells him to murder her instead of her child. He laughs cruelly when he obliges. It's turning my stomach to see how Wormtail grovels behind the murderer, grinning like a maniac to be with the winning party. The grin freezes on his face as soon as he sees the curse bounce off the baby and the evil killer turning to a mere spirit. He screams, picks up Voldemort's fallen wand and transforms before scurrying away, still squeaking._

"Show her these two memories, Remus! She should understand a lot more after those," says Harry.

"I will, cub! I'll be back soon. Stay here and enjoy your time learning to know your family, even if they're only portraits."

"Yep, that's what I'll do. We'll start to think of accidents that could befall those poor, poor pureblood idiots."

I laugh! That's the spirit we need to have. I may have got out of Dumbledore's radar and Harry got out of his own private hell, but we're only at the start of our mission.


	2. Setting the Stage

**A/N** Wow, I'm floored. I've never had so many people marking my story after the first chapter...

Thanks for the reviews as well.

I have written a number of chapters, but not the whole story yet. It is rather fast paced and will probably be around ten chapters long or so. I'm not going to write all of Harry's school years, just what is needed for the story to conclude. And a nice epilogue, of course

**Chapter 2 – Setting the stage**

**Longbottom Estate, 19.06.1989**

(Remus)

As I arrive at the Estate I knock on Madam Longbottom's door. A house-elf opens the door and greets me kindly.

"Hello. My name is Remus Lupin, I wonder if I could speak to your mistress, Madam Longbottom."

"I is having to ask her, sir, please to wait here for an instant."

A few minutes later I can see Madam Longbottom come into the entrance hall. I get up from my chair and greet her respectfully.

"Mr. Lupin? My elf tells me you would like to speak to me?"

"That's right, Madam. Are you willing to give me some of your time?"

"I think so. I remember you – weren't you one of my son and daughter-in-law's friends?"

"That's correct, Madam."

"And the most level-headed one, if memory serves me right. Please come through and take a seat in the drawing room."

As the house-elf brings a refreshment I start to tell the Longbottom head of house Harry's story. She listens intently and asks some questions. I finish by showing her Harry's two most important memories. I tell her how Harry has taken down the memory spells from me and how I have found out a few horrible truths in the process. I show her a copy of James and Lily's wills, in which she is named as a possible guardian for Harry.

"I've never known about that!" she exclaims.

"That's what we thought. The wills were never executed because Dumbledore had them sealed. We don't know what his reasons were for that, but one thing is sure. Dumbledore is trying to set up Harry for something. We know that Voldemort is not dead, that he can come back, but he cannot do so alone. If any of his former followers are desperate enough they will seek the spirit out and will learn they can resurrect him. They only need to follow the rumours that he's in Albania and they will go there and find him. We have a fighting chance though, because we know what's keeping him alive and how to fight it. We do need allies though and we need possible escape routes."

"Escape routes?"

"From Dumbledore. He's our primary enemy for the moment. We don't know what his intentions towards Harry are, but the fact that he imprisoned the boy with his abusive relatives and claimed he was safe there does not leave me any doubts that his intentions are not conducive to Harry's health. He's the last of the Potters, the last of the Gryffindor line; I personally would not like to see that line to be ended by a so called 'light' wizard."

"I agree with you. Would you let me in to your plans?"

"If you would be ready to actually take on the position of Harry's guardian until Sirius can be freed from Azkaban you would help us incredibly. That's one way. Or if you would be ready to assume a more active role in the Wizengamot and help us bring Dumbledore's true colours to the open you'd be helping us even more."

"Hm. I'm afraid I am not a really good guardian. I do love my grandson, but I cannot claim to be a very effective parent, I lack patience and my ability to show emotion is limited. Neville knows that, he can live with it, but your Harry sounds like he's been abused, I don't think he'd be very happy here. Were is he at the moment?"

"We've seen the goblins at Gringotts and have been able to go to Potter manor, which is unplottable and completely hidden. He's safe there and there are a few house-elves still around who look after him now. But before we can come out to the open we have to convince the Ministry to accept a new magical guardian. I would prefer to have Sirius' name cleared, but for that to happen I have to get a reliable contact at the DMLE, and one placed up as high as possible to present our evidence."

"If it's only that – let me get you in contact with Amelia Bones. She's the head of the DMLE and let me assure you, if she smells any kind of injustice she'll be on it like a bloodhound."

"That would be absolutely great, Madam Longbottom. If she listens to us then I think we stand a great chance."

"Let me send her a quick message with my house-elf. She'll be by in a moment or two."

I'm left to wait and about fifteen minutes later Madam Longbottom enters with a well dressed middle-aged woman carrying a monocle.

"Mr. Remus Lupin, I presume?" she asks.

"Yes, Madam, very pleased to meet you."

"Likewise, Mr. Lupin. Augusta would not normally call me away from my office as urgently for no reason, would you tell me what your issue is?"

"Yes, thank you. – I start with a question, Madam. How much do you know, off the top of your head, about the Sirius Black case?"

She looks slightly taken aback.

"The Sirius Black case? That's ages ago! I was only a lowly Auror back then, studying law. I do remember that he was caught on the scene of the crime and that he was tried very quickly, sent for life to Azkaban. That's really off the top of my head though, so there's no guarantee that I would have my facts correctly. Why do you ask?"

"If you had a look into his file you would probably notice that there was no trial at all. It was Dumbledore who testified that Sirius was the Potters' Secret Keeper, but as you have seen in Harry's baby memory, Madam Longbottom, he knew that it was actually Peter Pettigrew who was the Secret Keeper, it was Peter Pettigrew who was the traitor and it was most probably Peter Pettigrew who killed the Muggles. The last thing I can't prove before we have found Pettigrew or before Sirius can be questioned under Veritaserum. But I bet every single Galleon in Harry's considerable fortune that he's still alive."

"Didn't they find only a finger?" asks Madam Longbottom.

"They did. But they also didn't know that Peter Pettigrew is an unregistered Animagus. And his form is a rat."

Both women stare at me in shock.

"An Animagus? A rat?"

"A rat. Can you imagine how easy it would have been for him to leave behind a finger and vanish somewhere in his Animagus form? Rats can vanish almost anywhere! What's more you have seen him in Harry's memory, backing up Voldemort…"

"That I have," Madam Longbottom confirms.

"So you have called me here to roll up Sirius Black's case again? If he really never received a fair trial then that will have to take place. I dread to think we have thrown someone into prison for life without a trial."

"Madam, it is of the utmost importance that these procedures have to pass in as much secrecy as you can muster."

"Explain to me why we have to keep this secret?"

Once again I launch into the explanation of Harry's future memories and show her his past ones. At first she doesn't believe me at all, but then I tell her a few things she probably knows about Dumbledore.

"Okay, let's say I have a look into the file quietly. What would you suggest? And why in secret?"

"We need a Ministry approved guardian for Harry. If you see here, these are James and Lily Potter's wills. The possible guardians they name are Sirius, myself – but you might know that I am a werewolf and you can imagine the public outcry if I were to become Harry's sole guardian – Minerva McGonagall and Madam Longbottom here. We need to get Harry out of Dumbledore's clutches to be able to do what we intend to do. Sirius has to be questioned and we have to find the rat – according to Harry's future memories it poses as a pet for one of Arthur Weasley's sons, he said it was Percy. We need to get it and force him to show himself…"

"What are your intentions? What do you mean by 'to do what you intend to do'?"

"Have you ever heard talking of an item called a Horcrux, Madam Bones?"

"No. What is this?"

"It's what makes Voldemort immortal until we have found all five Horcruxes he's made. A Horcrux is a container to house a fraction of one's soul. As long as that soul fraction is somewhere in the living world the person with the Horcrux cannot fully die. It is the reason why Voldemort can be resurrected if only one of his former followers gets the idea of wanting him back."

"But they're all in Azkaban, aren't they?" Bones interrupts me.

"Madam Bones, you do not in all honesty think they've all been caught, do you? You cannot be that naïve?"

"Well, call me naïve if you like, but I know how many trials we had back then…"

"Yes, and I'd estimate about 98% of those trials were bought. Do you really think Lucius Malfoy was under the Imperius?"

She blushes.

"Well, my personal impression is certainly a different one, but he was acquitted. Without fresh evidence we cannot roll up a case anymore."

"Pour down some Veritaserum into his throat and you'll have him spilling many of his secrets! They're all ugly, believe me. And while you're at it do the same with every one of the other Death Eaters who claimed to be under Imperius. Not one of them was! They're all still there, and they're all in the open, still spreading their horror racist views and bringing through ugly laws that cripple anyone who they can't otherwise get rid of. Madam Bones, if you think we're living in peace you're wrong. We live in a semblance of peace at best."

"Okay, okay, let's get back to those – Horcruxes?"

"Yes. To make one you need to commit a cold-blooded murder and follow that up with a horribly dark ritual. It will split your soul in half and place that half in the container. We know that Voldemort has made five Horcruxes for sure, maybe a sixth one. It was certainly his goal. Not that much is left of his soul; probably he couldn't make another one even if he tried after that sixth."

"Do you know what and where they are?"

"Yes, we do. But it is something we will take care of. You needn't worry about the Horcruxes, Madam, they're our project. We can get each of them without much of a fuss, but it will take a few years to get to each. Remember that Harry had to search for them once before, he not only knows where they are, he also knows what protects them and what not, we wish to accomplish it as quietly as we possibly can. Voldemort may only be a spirit somewhere down in Albania, but I'm sure he's keeping an eye on things and will know a lot about what's happened here. If he gets wind of what we're doing we're doomed. Harry remembers that he managed to possess a Hogwarts teacher who passed his forest in Albania and that said teacher brought him right into Hogwarts, just when Dumbledore had the Philosopher's Stone hidden at the school. Coincidence? I think not. In Harry's former life, he and two friends at school saved the Stone from this very teacher and Harry forced Voldemort out at the danger of his own life. When he decided to end his own life and was sent back, he knew that he wouldn't want to be a pawn in Dumbledore's hands anymore. I think he has his priorities right. Forewarned is forearmed, but it doesn't mean we don't have to be careful to a) repeat the mistakes or b) make new mistakes!"

"I can see your point. If it's true what you tell me about those Horcruxes… they sound like a horrible thing!"

"They are a horrible thing, Madam. Not only are they outlawed as you can probably imagine easily, they have been almost completely forgotten. Unfortunately Voldemort, back in the days when he was still at Hogwarts and his name was plain Tom Marvolo Riddle, was able to wheedle it out of Horace Slughorn how to make them. As far as Harry knows he made his first Horcrux when he murdered his parents in 1944 or there about. And believe me, that wasn't his first murder."

"It wasn't? But – he was still at Hogwarts!"

"I can tell you that he murdered for the first time when he was in his fifth year – in 1942."

Both ladies shudder.

"What? What kind of a kid was that?" Bones asks.

"Obviously one that didn't have much of a regard for his fellow humans."

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, you say? Why do you know that?" she asks on.

"Another one of Harry's memories. It seems that all Dumbledore did in his sixth year was telling him back-story of Voldemort, not a word on how to destroy the Horcruxes. – But, I want to stress that my personal foremost interest is to keep Harry out of Dumbledore's clutches, and away from his abusive relatives. My second interest will be to help him working out the Horcruxes."

"Why must it be him? Couldn't he ask anyone else?"

"He could, but I think we have the best means of performing well. He has the advantage of already having done it…"

"How would he go about it? He's around nine years old! He's not even allowed to do magic legally yet."

"You force me to give you a high amount of information that's dangerous to share, Madam. The main reason I've already given you – he's done it once already – at least his older self has done it, and another reason would be that there's a prophecy, which we think is rubbish, but which unfortunately Voldemort believed. It was the reason why he went after Harry in the first place. Harry was one of two children who could have been meant by the prophecy, but once Voldemort had marked Harry with his failed Killing Curse the other child was safe."

Madam Longbottom looks decidedly green until I mention that the other child is safe. Harry has told me that the other child that might have been meant was Neville, her grandson.

"Are you sure about that? Dumbledore was very secretive about it and always tried to keep his cards close to his chest. We were all very frustrated with him, you know. We felt that something with this ominous prophecy was off."

"According to Dumbledore Voldemort only knew the first half of the prophecy, the one which says that the one who can vanquish him approaches. He knew the stipulations, but not the most important part, the bit about him marking the prophesised as his equal. Had he heard that part as well he would probably not have run out and tried to kill the One while he was still a baby. It was his downfall, but it was also clear to Dumbledore that this wasn't the end of Voldemort. In this context, it's clear to me, too. Though I only understood why he's not dead when Harry mentioned the Horcruxes. As long as he's but a spirit, he can't be killed, even when his Horcruxes are gone. He will come back, but we want to get rid of the Horcruxes before we let him. And then he will find his definitive end at once. If Harry has to do a bit of magic when he shouldn't actually do that, heck, that's the least of our trouble. It's the future of our world that's at stake when push comes to shove."

"I can see that. – Mr. Lupin, do you think I might talk to Harry once? I'd like to learn to know him. He sounds like an incredible young man."

"He's a wonderful soul, Madam. He's been abused ever since Dumbledore dumped him on his relatives' doorstep. Dumbledore never even cared about checking how he did! Harry has lifted numerous compulsion and obliviation spells from me before we could even start to talk. It's the reason why we haven't contacted Minerva yet, because if he's liberally used compulsion and obliviations on me, he's definitely done it with her even more often! In fact, Harry said that he's frequently obliviated not only Minerva, but also Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout. Probably Poppy Pomfrey, too."

Now Madam Bones and Madam Longbottom gasp.

"What did he gain from that?"

"Loyalty. It seems that he has used his position to secure a teaching position for his pet Death Eater who has turned spy for him, Severus Snape. Snape has also been made head of Slytherin house and he seems to run roughshod over every student that's not in Slytherin. Dumbledore is using his obliviations so that Minerva, Flitwick and Sprout don't run to the Board of Governors to complain about the miserable teacher. But that's most probably just one of many other reasons. A really horrible thing I know about him is that he has forced the bond with his phoenix, Fawkes, by using a binding spell and loads of compulsion spells on the bird. On a phoenix! What kind of a light wizard would do that? He feared the loss of his image with the rest of the magical world if his phoenix decided to leave him. And Fawkes definitely did want to leave him."

"How do you know that?"

"Fawkes told me. He showed Harry and me images yesterday and he answered a few questions with showing us more images. Very powerful birds they are, the phoenixes."

"Oh dear… that is bad!"

"Madam Bones, may I invite you to Potter manor so you can meet Harry? He's very able to prove to you what he claims. You speak with him for a few minutes and I'm sure you'll see what I saw – that he's the true thing. No nine year old who has been secluded for eight of those nine years talks like he does and knows what he knows. I strongly believe, you will see it, too."

"I would like to do that, but I have no idea where it is, Mr. Lupin!"

"Oh, if you trust me then I'll apparate you."

"In this case, yes, please."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Madam Longbottom, and for the time you have given me. It is a great service, even if you don't know it yet."

"You're welcome, Mr. Lupin. I hope things can be solved to your satisfaction. If what you say is true then we need you badly. I wish you all the best in this enterprise."

"Thank you. I needn't tell you how vital it is not to speak to anyone outside of us of these things. The knowledge of Horcruxes is certainly buried well within people like you and me, but let anyone of the darker nature hear about them – who doesn't already know – and they will be off like a rocket to make some."

"Rocket?" both women ask.

I laugh – purebloods who hardly ever get to hear news from the Muggle world.

"Very, very fast Muggle flying objects. They reached as far places as Mars with some of them."

"You mean they travelled to Mars?" Madam Bones asks, flabbergasted.

"No, they didn't travel, but they sent moving objects within the rocket to examine the surface of the planet. To find out what kind of chemical elements there are and the like. But they did already travel to the moon – that's only 280'000 kilometres, they can reach that in about three days."

"We couldn't do anything like that, that's for sure!" Madam Bones admits.

"We never are curious enough about sciences, Madam. We only study things when they're magical and magic basically shoves science to the sides. We would be unbeatable if we combined our magic with their science. Keeping Muggle-borns out of everything leaves us getting more and ever more behind."

"I think you might be right. We must talk about that sometimes, Mr. Lupin. It seems you know a lot of this?"

We take our leave from Madam Longbottom and while we walk to the gates of the property to apparate I tell her a bit more about the Muggle sciences, especially how they could help us to advance potions or other objects of study.

"But the main problem in our ignorance is that we don't even want to know what they know. Very few of us follow newspapers from the Muggle world, because, let's be frank – even light wizards and witches hardly believe that they could learn from the Muggles. And thus, we allow the purebloods to run roughshod over all of us when we could use so much and learn so much! The last hundred years have been very busy for the Muggles. Not only the invention of cars has brought them forth, but especially the use of electricity for almost everything allows them to invent machines to do things almost as miraculously as magic, albeit not quite as fast. Apart from the instantaneous manner of magic, they're not really behind us anymore, they would think our way of life very antiquated. And they're right."

"Are you a Muggle-born, Mr. Lupin?"

"No, but the fact that I'm a werewolf makes it very difficult to find work in our world, Madam, the many different opportunities that the Muggle workplace offers makes it much easier for me to find work without being discovered. Naturally, you need to have skills and you need to learn their ways of life. I am perfectly suited to live in both worlds and combine them with ease. Before my friends died, I held a number of jobs in the Muggle world. After their deaths – well, I became one of the victims of Dumbledore's and his obliviations. He set me up as a writer for several scientific magazines."

"You seem to accept this, but when you say that you can't find work in the magical world it makes me blush for the way some creatures are excluded from it. I am ashamed that some laws have gone through the Wizengamot that deliberately impoverish people for such things as your condition."

"Madam, I have had to learn to accept these things since I was bitten when I was just five years old. Had it not been for my parents who cared for me even more after the bite I would have probably become what most people think of werewolves. And that's the problem. Create even more laws that puts us out on the street unless our families support us and we'll run wild even worse every full moon. On the other hand – it's also a direct consequence of all the purebloods who bring through such laws. I find much less prejudice among Muggle-borns and half-bloods."

"Food for thought. Thank you, Mr. Lupin. – Well, here we are – apparate me, then!"

I take her arm and side-along apparate her to Potter manor. She smiles and turns to me when we arrive there.

"Oh, now I remember! What a delightful place it was. I used to come here to visit Charlus and Dorea. As you know Charlus was an Auror, too."

"Yes, I know. Well, let's get inside then."

When we get there, Harry comes running and I find myself hugged around my middle and the little boy proves that even with his 35 year old mind he's still a bit of a boy.

"Oh Remus, there you are! I was so worried! They could have had you arrested on the spot or something, I'm so glad you're back home! – Oh!"

I hug him back and he straightens and looks at Amelia Bones, but then his face breaks into a smile.

"That's a great idea, Remus! – Welcome to Potter manor, Madam Bones, it's a pleasure to have you here."

"Likewise, Mr. Potter. Since you know me by name I expect you have spoken to me in your former life?"

"Yes, I have. I was also a year mate at Hogwarts with your niece, Susan. I can see that Remus told you. I trust you if he does. I trusted you in my former life, unfortunately not enough to actually come to you directly with some problems, and when I finally thought of you they had already killed y… - oops…"

Madam Bones actually laughs.

"I know I would be one of the first they'd get rid of if they ever get active again. Would you give me some time? I have cleared my scheduled meetings today to give this the necessary time."

"I would love to. Please step into the great hall here, in spite of the name it's a homely enough salon. Any refreshments?"

"Not right now, thank you."

As soon as we sit, she looks over to me and says:

"I can see why you trust this young man, Mr. Lupin. Boy and man combined, it seems to be a delightful combination. Now would you tell me your story, Mr. Potter? From the time you started your schooling…"

"Yes, I would."

Harry tells his story in as few words as he can muster, and she listens to every word he says, interrupting occasionally to ask some questions.

"I believe you. It sounds impossible, but I know that already the way you speak – no nine year old would talk like that. So where do we start?"

"By turning a blind eye if you hear of some former Death Eaters having accidents. Deadly ones. It could happen to some Wizengamot members even. Maybe especially to them, because they are everything but conducive to progress in our world. In fact, Voldemort's second reign forced us all much more in the open, because they were acting worse than Muggle terrorists. At the moment, most people believe that Voldemort is completely gone. We wish to eliminate the Horcruxes quietly so that this belief becomes truth. But that also means that we have to give our world the opportunity to move on, to progress. Ever more regulations regarding Muggle-borns or half-bloods will do nothing in that regard. We need to break some of the old influence to allow the newer ideas some space to develop. We don't have to have radical changes within weeks, we need to let them mature gradually, so that the magical people have time to accept things. They're not supposed to become scared of them; they're supposed to learn to use a more open-minded view of the world around them. It would mean a great advance.

"You were one of the first to be killed in that war I saw with Voldemort. But one of the worst things is that he just has to call and **all** of his former followers, those who were tried, but acquitted as well as those who were never caught, will come right out of their hiding places and act just as they did in the last war. They will go right back to torturing, murdering and changing everything for the worst. Only this time they will set up camps for the Muggle-borns, where they systematically start murdering them. Not without having a little bit of cruel fun with them, raping the girls and women, torturing everyone and keeping them alive for a little while, repeating the processes over and over. It becomes an ugly world if we let Dumbledore let things happen the way he did in my former life. Think about it – you are killed and leave behind Susan the same way I am left behind – the last to carry on the name. If we are killed, guess who gets our fortunes? They have not only tortured and killed; they've also stolen what they could reach."

"You're painting a frightening image, Mr. Potter," Madam Bones says and shudders visibly.

"I do, but not for no reason. As I understand the history in his first attempt he met with a lot of opposition, people were standing up to him and the Ministry may have trembled, but it didn't fall. This time he'll simply brush the Ministry aside and set up a puppet Minister who will do his bidding – Pius Thicknesse may not be a marked Death Eater, but he sympathises with the pureblood ideas. He is an old pureblood fanatic after all. And not only the Ministry goes down with hardly any fight at all, he manages to get Hogwarts, as well. As I have been told that at least was never conquered the last time."

"My word! I can see how that would turn this country into a dark and horrible place."

"Can you see now why I need a guardian who is approved by the Ministry, why I have to get out of Dumbledore's hands? I need to have a little bit more time to solve the Horcrux puzzle and then we can avoid all the horrible images I've just painted. I can put memories in the Pensieve for you to see that would give you nightmares for the rest of your life, Madam. And I haven't seen it all, believe me. While so many Muggle-borns were snatched up and tortured in the camps, I have been after the Horcruxes and only heard about something here and there on the underground wireless. It was awful, it was evil, and it was indescribable."

Bones looks like she's thinking of something. She stares at Harry.

"You just mentioned something of a 'marked' Death Eater, Mr. Potter, would you please elaborate?"

"Find the Dark Mark on the left forearm of a person and you have a marked Death Eater. Voldemort put this tattoo on his followers. It's not a simple tattoo, it's a form of the Protean charm, it allows him to summon them and probably contains a tracking charm as well. All he had to do is press his wand against the mark on the arm of one of his Death Eaters and they were summoned to wherever he was."

Madam Bones' eyes and mouth have gone big and round by the time Harry's explanation is over. But even I am astonished. We never knew that!

"You're saying that **every** person who has this Mark is a tried and true Death Eater?"

"Yes, precisely. The Mark can only be put there by Voldemort and everyone who has it is a Death Eater on their own free will. Most of them don't see that they enslave themselves to Voldemort at once. He has absolute power over them and while he sends them to mete out their own brand of cruelty, he treats them no better than any of his enemies. The slightest suspicion of disobedience can cost them their lives. There is a reason why many of the pureblooded idiots who were in his service keep it nice and quiet these days. Believe me; they know not to go running back to him now that he's out of it. Most of them are as scared of him as we are."

"I can see your reasoning. – Mr. Potter, this has been most enlightening! Thank you for giving me all of this information. I shall be on Mr. Black's file this afternoon and report back to you what I have found. Is that alright with you?"

"It's perfect, Madam. It was a pleasure to see you again and in your usual high spirit. I was a friend of your niece and she was quite a formidable fighter in the end. I hope she won't need to become a fighter this time around and I hope to become her friend again!"

"Susan is quite a talented witch. And a very nice girl, too. You already know that she's lost her whole family when she was your own age. I have taken her in and she's been living with me. It's been sad to see so many orphans ten years ago."

"There would be many more if we allow Voldemort to be brought back. I have to tell you that it was the rat we're looking for, that has caused all the grief. Would it be possible for you to establish a contact with Mr. Weasley? If we can get to the rat openly we'd have fewer problems."

"Can he send an owl here?"

"Errol would find me here."

"Well, I can ask him to contact you, that's no problem."

"Thank you, Madam Bones."

We accompany Madam Bones to the door. I explain to her that she can now come back on her own if she needs to.

"Very good. And owl post would reach you as well then?"

"To those who know and those we allow, yes."

"Excellent. I have some work to do then, thank you, gentlemen, it's been a pleasure meeting you!"

Phew. What a formidable ally! I can only thank Madam Longbottom again for bringing her in. The head of the department as well, we couldn't have hit any higher save the Minister himself. And our current Minister is a blundering idiot with too much greed for his own good.

Harry rubs his hands.

"Now then – let's get started on those accidents. What do you say? Start at the top?"

"Definitely the most important one, but I would leave that one until Sirius is free. Or, wait, no, we can do it. I have to contact Andromeda to ask her to take in the kid if we manage to get rid of the parents…"

"Wouldn't she be notified in any case?"

"I suppose she would but there's no reason not to be proactive, is there? I haven't seen Andy in a long while anyway; it'll be good to talk to her again."

"Very good."

**Ministry of Magic, 08.07.1989**

(Remus)

We have had so much to do in the past month I don't know where to start telling the story! First of all, it was fascinating to see Amelia at work. We have talked a few times more and fast become friends, the three of us. She went back to her office from our initial conversation and had her staff look for Sirius' file. When she saw how little it contained she was livid! There was his wand – untested as it turned out, a few written up testimonies from Muggles who were subsequently obliviated and a swatch from Peter Pettigrew's robes. She couldn't believe it that there was no transcription from the trial, and when she began to dig she quickly found out that there never was as much as even a hearing. Crouch had simply declared Sirius the second in command to Voldemort and thrown him for life into prison. The Daily Prophet had happily lapped up the sensation and the people believed it.

It's now two weeks later and we can take Sirius home! He is a wreck and a shadow of his former self, but if there's one thing I have vowed besides getting rid of Voldemort, it's that I will restore my lover to his former inner and outer beauty. Well, the inner beauty is still there buried under endless Dementor attacks, but essentially, he protected his good memories by becoming Padfoot.

Finding the rat and getting the trial on the way has had consequences for Bartemius Crouch senior who is sacked for his involvement in Sirius' sentencing. He would have gone almost free if he hadn't blabbed something about his son while he was under Veritaserum. He was found guilty of keeping his son under a constant Imperius at his home. Sirius said during the investigation that he thought the kid had died in Azkaban, but in truth, his mother was buried there under the guise of Polyjuice potion. Crouch had them switch places and taken his son home. Since everyone knew that his wife was terminally ill he informed everyone that she had died. They buried an empty coffin!

Not to mention that his son went straight back to Azkaban and the father was sentenced there for life as well. The law does say that the use of an Unforgivable earns you a life sentence after all. I think if there's one thing Amelia learned from our conversations it's to actually take the law seriously and to make use of it where it helps the light side. No more sparing suspected Death Eaters from their rightful sentences. No more corruption.

Sirius' trial is spectacular! Harry has told Amelia of the Priori Incantatem phenomenon he had encountered with Voldemort's wand. He told her that by using that she could bring forth all spells ever cast from that wand. When Pettigrew had finally been captured and forced to show himself we found he still had Voldemort's wand. Harry suggested that it should be used in a demonstration in court how the Priori Incantatem worked – would make for a good show, he said, and Amelia had grinned and agreed that this would be a great idea.

She has asked Ollivander to testify, and questions him, with an eye on the judge and the Wizengamot members in the panel:

"Mr. Ollivander, when we consulted you about Mr. Black's wand you informed us of a procedure that would allow us to prove what spells were cast with the wand. What is this procedure?"

"It is called Priori Incantatem. It's when two brother wands are used one against the other to duel. They won't work properly. One of them can force the other to spit out all spells that were ever cast with the wand."

"I have never heard of this before, but I'd be ready to test it. We have here a wand that has been used to cast Unforgivable curses. Mr. Ollivander, we thank you for kindly procuring a brother wand of this one. I have asked two of our Aurors to cast an aggressive spell against each other."

She gives one of the wands to each of the two Aurors, one of them is Kingsley, the other is Hestia. They put a small bit of distance between each other and both cast a disarming spell. The effect is immediate and stuns everyone. I look up and see Dumbledore sitting there in the audience; he looks like he is quietly seething.

But the wands are now shooting bright golden arrows of light and there is immense phoenix song. Obviously, Voldemort's wand has a phoenix core. Hestia holds it and she doesn't fight Kingsley as he forces the beads of light into the wand.

The first spell that comes out is of course the botched Killing curse on Harry. Nothing further happens, just the typical green light of Avada Kedavra. The next is Lily, but this time we can see how a shadow like figure of Lily comes out of that wand. She looks up at Hestia and Kingsley and her face brightens! We can't hear what she says, but obviously, she makes Kingsley and Hestia grin as they nod and hold on. Then James comes out. And after them spell for spell leaves the wand, some of them terrible curses, some of them simple everyday spells, some of them Killing curses. For every Killing curse, the shadow of the person killed comes out of the wand. The shadows mingle around Hestia and Kingsley and spur them on not to stop.

It takes two full hours until the spells are all out of the wand. A whole mass of shadows are in the cage of light and the phoenix keeps singing. It brightens up everyone in the room, but many of the people who are in the audience also see loved ones who have died years ago coming to life for a short while.

Lily's shadow steps up to Kingsley to tell him something and he nods, then he breaks the contact between the two wands. The light cage – and the shadows – vanish in a minute. Kingsley and Hestia are both extremely exhausted and hand both wands back to Amelia. She stands up and turns to the judge and the Wizengamot:

"As you have seen it was clear that there were numerous Unforgivables cast with this wand, numerous people have been killed using it. Mr. Ollivander, you have been able to procure a brother wand also to Sirius Black's wand. I have found his wand in his file, and it has been untouched since its confiscation. To prove that he has not cast any Unforgivable curses with it and no destructive spells either would you please tell us whom these demonstration wands belong?"

"Yes, this is the wand I have sold to Tom Marvolo Riddle, in 1938. You know that I remember every wand I've ever sold. This one is yew, thirteen inches and contains the single feather of a phoenix. The other wand containing a feather from the same phoenix remains unsold to this day."

There was murmur and I expect many people would think they wouldn't want that other wand. I wonder if it will still react to Harry as he said it did in his former life.

"Very well. And these two?"

"This one is the wand I sold to Sirius Black in 1970. It is made of white oak and contains a section of a dragon heartstring. The other wand is yet to be sold."

Ollivander is allowed to leave his stand and Amelia turns around.

"You have heard that this wand is indeed Sirius Black's wand. It will now be tested in the same way as Tom Marvolo Riddle's wand."

What a genius she is. People have seen who was killed with this wand, they now know whom the wand belonged to and that his real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. A quick glance in Dumbledore's direction tells me that he looks even unhappier that this is now public knowledge. Why ever does he want to hide this from people? Because of the Horcruxes? Well, you'll be out of it soon, old man. Unless you have a Horcrux of your own and a person who knows how to resurrect you we'll make sure you'll be gone. You're old enough, anyway.

Amelia gives Sirius his wand and hands the other again to Kingsley. There's no phoenix song of course, but the rays of light and the dome is the same exactly. The regurgitated spells do not contain a single Unforgivable curse, let alone a blasting hex at the end.

Harry was right. It is an extremely powerful demonstration and after that, there isn't the shadow of a doubt left. Sirius' compensation is discussed immediately and part of it is the custody over Harry.

As we make our way out of the Ministry Dumbledore is there of course and hisses that Harry should be returned to his relatives immediately for his safety.

"You must have lost your minds presenting Voldemort's wand to the public! He's not gone forever and what do you think he'll do when he gets back?"

I smirk and pull the infamous wand.

"He'll look for this. And no, you can't have it. It's going to where we are going – **with** Harry. You have had your say as long as Sirius was unavailable, Albus, but now you're out of the picture. If you so much as come near Harry in the next years we'll have you arrested for harassment. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly. I'm glad you are thanking me in this way for the chance to come to Hogwarts, Remus, and for all my help in the past years."

"Emotional blackmail won't help you this time, Albus. I've had my guilt trips, but I've been woken up from the nightmare you caused me. No more meddling, old man. Goodbye!"

I apparate my family away, but not to Potter manor, because it might be that he's caught us with tracking spells while we were talking. I find one, not only on me, but on Sirius and Harry as well, for good measure. I strip them off, then we move on to the manor.

"Remus, I saw mum and dad coming out of that wand again. Could we go and visit their graves, please?"

"Yes, we could, Harry. Right now? Sirius might want to see them, too, you know."

"Yes, right now," he whispers.

"Off we go!"

I apparate them directly inside the gate at Godric's Hollow's cemetery, where James and Lily were buried. What I didn't expect to see are the bodies of several of Voldemort's victims that have come out of the wand just hours before. We run to the graves and find a very disoriented, but very much alive James and Lily right outside of their graves.

"**Mum! Dad!**" Harry screams and starts to run.

Sirius and I follow him on the spot. James looks up, looks at Lily and then at the boy who comes rushing at them. I don't believe my eyes! They're back! They look so alive I'm almost losing it! Did Harry know that from his former life?

We reach them just as Harry falls into his mother's arms. He sobs and cries, and thanks her over and over for saving his life and sacrificing hers and at the same time he chides her for not saving herself. Lily's reaction is typical. She tells him off for being silly and asks:

"Do you think he would have really let me live after that? I'm a Muggle-born witch, silly little button. He'd only been in less of a hurry and tortured me for a bit of fun for him."

That only makes Harry cry harder. Lily looks up and asks:

"What the heck are we doing here? Why are there gravestones with our names? What the devil happened to you, Sirius, you look deader than we seem to be!"

James and I can't help it, we break out and laugh loud and long and hard. I haven't had this much reason to laugh for a long time. Seeing Sirius being freed an hour ago was already making me giddy, putting one over Dumbledore was the next step and now finding this huge surprise is almost too much.

Though trouble is already at the horizon, as at this moment said Dumbledore steps into the graveyard and can't believe his eyes. James and Lily try to get up, but are obviously unable to do so, I conjure stretchers for them and send a Patronus message to Poppy Pomfrey to come here quickly and bring as much strengthening potion along as she can.

Good old reliable Poppy turns up minutes later while Dumbledore takes a beeline in our direction. He doesn't receive the reception he's expected though. James, quick of mind as he is, tells us not to allow Albus any approach at all.

"Haven't we just told you to stay away from us, Albus? You have cost James and Lily their lives, you have cost Sirius almost eight years in Azkaban, you have cost Harry eight years of constant abuse and emotional distress at the hands of Lily's sister and her husband, haven't you caused enough grief for us yet?" I growl.

"Calm down, Remus, how could I know that you would come straight here?"

"I don't care, but unless you have some relatives or friends here, who you could help out, leave **us** alone."

"I would agree with Remus. If I had a wand right now, I'd curse you to hell and back, Albus Dumbledore!" James says behind me.

Dumbledore is taken aback and actually does move away. At that moment, Poppy comes close and asks:

"What, by Ceridwen, has happened here, Remus? – I can see how you would need strengthening potions…"

Beside James and Lily there are about half a dozen people who have crawled out of their graves. I'm speechless. There is certainly a direct relation to the Priori Incantatem on Voldemort's wand. I quickly send another Patronus message, this one to Amelia to bring in Aurors and mediwitches and –wizards. All we have to do is keep Albus away. Poppy throws a questioning glance at us and I whisper in her ears that I would like to meet her in the evening at my parents' cottage, which she knows very well and if possible, to bring Minerva along.

We watch as Lily and James gobble up the potion Poppy has brought. She's crying happily, looking around and wondering what could have happened. As we look over the others, who are still spread over several paths Amelia comes in with a few Aurors and tells us immediately that the medical people will follow soonest.

"What is going on here? Merlin, Mr. and Mrs Potter! You are alive! What a miracle happened here?"

"We believe it is in connection with the Priori Incantatem, Amelia, but Harry didn't know about the phenomenon either. – Harry?"

"I have no idea. When I encountered it against Voldemort, I had to stop after mum and dad came out, but if they ever came out of their graves, I wouldn't know anything about it because I never saw them! I can't believe it! It's just a miracle! Wouldn't put it past the old man if **he** put them out again immediately."

James and Lily look consternated, so we inform them immediately that we would tell them everything as soon as we were able to leave the place.

"Okay," James accepts.

Amelia has Poppy check the two up quickly, give them a bit of potion and telling them:

"There's not much more than to tell you to take it easy and start up slowly. You have not used your muscles for many years so you'll have to build them up slowly. I'll see to it that you get the potions you need."

"We'll get brewing, Poppy, thanks. But you're welcome to come and see us, of course."

"I'll see you tonight in any case. The meds are turning up now they don't need me."

"In that case, come with us directly. We need to take them home!"

I'm creating a Portkey for us all and moments later, we say goodbye to Amelia and vanish to Potter manor. James and Lily stay on the stretchers for the moment, and when the house-elves get wind of more people arriving at the manor they all get excited beyond anything!

"Master James! Mistress Lily!"

Sally jumps Lily's stretcher to hug the beloved mistress and Lily just laughs, obviously giddy to be back in her place. The house-elves bring something a bit more comfortable so that James and Lily can half sit, half lie in the great hall, while we all take a seat around them.

Sirius sits next to me and when I put my arm around him, he immediately snuggles closer. He doesn't know about Harry's future life yet, he's only seen him with me at his trial. My head turns as I ask everyone to quiet down for a moment.

"I think a lengthy explanation is called for, but that will be Harry's show. If possible don't interrupt, please, I suppose it will be hard enough for him to tell it yet another time."

James and Lily look even more consternated, if that's at all possible, so Harry doesn't beat around the bush and jumps into his explanation. I hear it for the umpteenth time in the meantime, but I can feel how Sirius next to me tenses up every time Harry mentions something else that worked against him. His parents are speechless, even Lily. Lily usually has a comment on everything and sometimes it's a very sharp comment! If need be she's a tough cookie.

Once Harry reaches the end talking about his future life James, Sirius and Lily need a moment to stomach it all.

"Love potion? She caught you with a love potion?" Lily asked, hardly believing what she hears.

"She did. You can be assured she won't even get close to me once I go to Hogwarts. What's worse is that they also dosed Hermione with the love potion and that Hermione, insecure as she was in these things already, never knew what to do about Ron, she didn't love him, of that much, I'm sure. How would a brilliant woman like her see herself bound to a lazy bum with – as she once called it – the emotional range of a teaspoon?"

"Hm. If I hear you right then you would have naturally rather chosen Hermione?" Lily says, grinning.

"She sounds brilliant, Harry," says James.

Poppy is floored, too. She has come along and only now remembers that she should mother over James and Lily. The house-elves have prepared their bedroom in the meantime and neither of them minds to go back to sleep. They are certainly tired, but will probably wake up in a while to get something to eat.

It's been a massive shock for all of us. Even a massive positive surprise is taking a toll and once James and Lily are off to sleep, we're left almost as exhausted. Sirius looks up at me and asks:

"What was that?"

"I don't know any more than you do, Siri."

"Not that I complain, but – it is just incredible."

"It is. I'm still floored."

Poppy comes back from giving them a more thorough examination. She beams.

"Nothing wrong with them, just the muscle disuse. Now let me look at you, Sirius!"

She gives him a thorough examination as well and declares him basically healthy, but repairs his teeth, which are in an ugly old state and then recommends a couple of nutritious potions that would be good for all three of them.

"Good. We'll brew those as well. Now, Poppy, there is something very serious we have to talk about. How do you feel about Albus Dumbledore?"

"Why do you ask such a question? You were always good friends with him, weren't you? He's just about the greatest wizard alive on this planet…"

I grin. Then I hand Harry my wand and say:

"Here, cub, would you do the honours?"

"Yep. Please, Madam Pomfrey, I'll cast some spells on you, and none of them is aggressive. I only have to lift some of the headmaster's administrations on you…"

And he weaves the wand in fancy patterns, murmurs and casts several spells, which all serve for only one thing – ridding Poppy of her false memories, obliviations and compulsion spells. When he's done, she shakes her head and looks at us, horrified.

"Albus?" she asks, tentatively.

"Albus," I confirm.

"I would never have noticed! I feel **so** abused! How could he do this to me? And he did it to Minerva, too? Is that why you asked me to bring her?"

"Yes, Poppy, that is why. Could you bring her here later on? She should know how she's been misused."

"Of course! I will contact her, she's at her place in Norfolk at the moment, but I can pass at her place, out of Albus' reach. By golly, I'm so angry! I hope I can hide my anger!"

"I suggest you get your rusty Occlumency up to speed, Poppy!"

"My Occlumency is perfectly up to speed when needed, thank you very much, Sirius! I trusted the old man! He'd never have caught me if I had even had an inkling of his deception. But I trusted him!"

"A feeling that's very familiar to me, Poppy, believe me," I say.

With that, Poppy leaves us temporarily only to come back half an hour later with Minerva McGonagall in tow. I get up to greet the Professor, Sirius straight in tow.

"Hello, Minerva!"

"Hello, everyone. What's this I'm hearing about a trial for Sirius Black?"

I smile as I pull her close for a hug. She's not the most affectionate of persons, but Minerva has a great heart, so sometimes you have to force that out a bit.

"Yes, Minerva, he's been acquitted today. He's never had a trial in the first place, and I'm sorry to say it was because of Albus' testimony. And, I have to add, he actually committed a perjury with giving that testimony. We know that he knew that Sirius wasn't the Potters' Secret Keeper."

"Merlin, I had my doubts about the whole thing, but there's always been a bit of a hazy memory in my head about it."

"And that's why you are here. He's interfered a lot with your head, Minerva. Let us introduce – or rather re-introduce you with Harry."

"Hello, Harry! It's nice to meet you again."

"Hello, Professor! It's nice to meet you again, too," he says with a cheeky grin.

Minerva is taken aback.

"You remember me?" she asks.

"Harry, stop being cheeky! Minerva, you have to know something about Harry first, he isn't just little Harry, he also has his 35 years old self inside of him. We can show you the Pensieve memory of Harry, telling us his story – did Poppy tell you the other good news, Minerva?"

"About James and Lily? Is it really true? I can hardly imagine. It's a miracle!"

"Yes, it's true. They're currently upstairs in their bed, resting. Obviously, we'll have to do some research about this and see if we can find something about this phenomenon. Maybe we'll never understand," I tell her. "Will you stay for dinner?"

"I'd be happy to! I'm on holiday after all."

Harry takes my wand and places his memory in the Pensieve. We take Minerva along and when she sees James and Lily there, looking quite well already she breaks in a brilliant smile, not something to see often in Minerva.

She is reasonably impressed with Harry's tale of course and watches him clear Poppy's memory and Poppy's face after being cleared. When we return to the living room, she drops on one of the armchairs with a sigh.

"If he did that to Poppy I stand no chance that he hasn't done it to me. I'm known as a tough woman, but I think I'll have a good long cry over this."

"I think we should free you from those spells as quick as we can, Professor, you have the right to your own mind!" Harry says, grabs my wand again and starts checking her over.

She tenses, I'm not sure if she's scared to be at the wandpoint of an untrained nine-year-old or because she fears how much she has been forced to forget. Harry sighs as he finds ever more spells layered over spells.

"Professor, I could probably get these down, but I think it would be better if it would be possible to call in Professor Flitwick. We can also free him then. It would leave us with Professor Sprout, but I suppose we can send her an owl."

"Stay here, Minerva, I will go to Filius. I'm sure he'll come immediately," Poppy says.

I call over James, the house-elf, and ask him to bring us some tea. He comes back only minutes later with a rich tea. He wants to serve Harry first, but Harry simply points over to Minerva. The little elf turns around quickly and serves Minerva. She picks up the cup he offers and nibbles on a muffin. We talk about what she's seen in the Pensieve.

"I don't know where to start with my indignation. I know the Weasleys, I have known the parents at school, both have been in Gryffindor, I know the oldest three and expect the next two to start in fall, and all three of the boys are extremely nice or good workers, I can't for the life of me imagine how any one of them could be this cruel, Harry! And that you had to go through all of this – Dumbledore?" she whispers.

"Most of it is Dumbledore's doing, but I suspect the love potion idea was Molly Weasley's. She mostly intended to give her daughter the Potter fortune. I certainly fell for it. I have to say that she, Ron and Ginny are the ones I despise; I got along perfectly with Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy and the twins. Even Percy, who was a real prick for a time."

She shakes her head and looks at Harry sadly.

"Well, I suppose we have to see the good side of it. You don't have to go through all of it again; you know what to watch out for."

"That's exactly how I feel, Professor."

Poppy comes back and brings not only Flitwick, but also Professor Sprout along. We grin and she apologises:

"I'm sorry, I thought I might as well bring Pomona over as well. I have given them a rough idea of what the story is."

"Hello, Professors, welcome to Potter manor," I say.

"Hello, Remus, Sirius, and you must be little Harry Potter then," Filius greets us and then also greets Minerva.

"Yes, Professor Flitwick, though for the moment it is not about me, it's about what Albus Dumbledore did to you all. I have been able to clear up the spells placed on Remus and Madam Pomfrey, but the many spells placed on Professor McGonagall are slightly above my abilities. I thought you might be able to help, better than I can," Harry says.

"Please tell me what you have found – it speeds up my own assessment."

Harry gives him a quick tour of the spells he's found and even little Filius' usually cheerful face blanches.

"Dear me! That's awful! Let me get to work then."

Filius works hard for the next half hour and he slowly seems to take down those many spells. Pearly drops of sweat start to show on his forehead, which Poppy gently removes with a towel. As Filius gets down deeper into the layers of obliviations, Minerva slumps in her chair and starts to cry for good.

I get up, sit on the lean of her armchair and pull her into my arms. She actually returns the hug. I feel her tears starting to flow.

"Let it out, Minerva! Even tough women have the right to let their feelings flow sometimes," I whisper.

Sirius gets up, too, and goes on his knees in front of Minerva.

"You have certainly not deserved any of this treatment, Minerva. We're with you all the way, hang in there," he whispers and takes her hands.

Filius quietly continues until he finally drops his wand arm and takes a deep breath.

"I think I have them now… Mr. Potter, if you would kindly check me up, I'd be most obliged."

"Dear Professor, I think it is time for dinner, I suggest we do it right afterwards, would that be all right?"

"Yes, certainly."

"Then I would like to just inform the house-elves that we would be ready to have dinner in a moment. Madam Pomfrey, would you kindly have a look how my parents are doing?"

"Gladly, Harry."

Harry hurries out and we stick to Minerva for another moment. Finally, I help her up and show her to the nearest bathroom to give her the opportunity to freshen up. She hasn't been able to say even one word yet. When she returns she says:

"Thank you very much, Remus. I can't tell you how much it means to me that I have my own memories back! I feel so used, so violated!"

"You have been violated, Minerva. It will take time to get over it, and there's no use to confront Dumbledore with it – he'd just attack you again as soon as you turn your back. We probably have to get down and speed up our actions against Dumbledore."

Her eyes grow wide.

"You had plans to work against him? Are you crazy, Remus?"

"No, I'm not, but we talk about it at a later date, right now, may I accompany you to dinner?"

"Thank you, Remus!"

I lead her to the dining room where the others already start to assemble. Poppy actually brings James and Lily down, who are already responding to the first dose of their restorative potion. They look astonished to see three Hogwarts heads of house among the diners. As we take a place in a casual manner, I place myself next to Sirius and stand up for a moment.

"I feel like I have to say a few words. Less than three weeks ago, I sat in my parents' cottage, and an owl came with a message from Harry. When I read it, I was quite surprised to find out that I had practically forgotten about a boy named Harry Potter. He asked me to write to him and give him my address. When I replied with my address he apparated in front of my house. He then told me this incredible story about having lived already for 35 years and finding that his life had led him into a complete horror. He decided to end it all and just leave it all behind as he saw nothing left to live for. He chose to pass through the Veil of Death at the Department of Mysteries. Imagine his surprise when he couldn't actually pass on to the beyond because he wasn't already dead when he went into the Veil. He was given the choice to return to any point in his life already lived, to change what he thought necessary to change. He went back to being nearly nine years old.

"That's the short story. What happened in his former life is worth to be written down in a book of horrors. He has seen things that certainly make us cringe at best. I have decided to help him to achieve his goals for a better future – not only for himself, but for all of us. The first thing he did was freeing me from a few only too well placed memory charms and compulsion spells and he showed me who had placed them there. I was appalled! I wouldn't have thought it possible, but he proved to me that the man we all thought was one of the greatest wizards to ever grace this earth, a beacon of an upstanding, good wizard – Albus Dumbledore, had abused me this way. This man has lied to us all. He has used us, abused us and, as Minerva just called it, violated us all in some way or another. We have him to thank for Voldemort, and if it were for him we'd have him to thank for Voldemort's repeated nibble at the power.

"Harry already made some significant changes to his original timeline, simply by writing to me. He's helped free Sirius by giving us hints about Peter Pettigrew's involvement. Together he and I have planned our next steps. They will sound horribly harsh to you, but I have seen the reason why they must be. We have decided to undermine the Ministry's authority in an area where it has completely lost the plot after the fall of Voldemort: catching, trying and actually sentencing Death Eaters. We plan to capture and despatch of all the Death Eaters that have been acquitted and we will also capture and despatch some that were never tried. These Death Eaters will vanish in the next months, quietly and without any traces. We plan to actually eliminate them one by one and before they really realise what has happened they'll be gone.

"We have designs on several members of the Wizengamot in the same ruthless way. And we have decided to bring down Dumbledore. We'll not follow the Gryffindor path for this but rather take him on like some really cunning Slytherins. And it will actually happen before the new term starts.

"When we have achieved all of this we will be ready to bring back and eliminate forever the plague of our youthful years, Tom Marvolo Riddle, the self-proclaimed Lord Voldemort.

"These, in short, are our plans. We do this to have a reason to go on. To find that even in this horribly twisted magical world there will be changes that will accommodate more than just purebloods and their agenda, to finally integrate everyone with magic in some way or another, according to their specific needs, be they witches and wizards, house-elves, werewolves or whatever.

"Three weeks ago my only problem was to have enough to eat the next day. I hardly knew who I was, where I was, what I did. I certainly wouldn't have dreamed to sit in a circle of wonderful people here at Potter manor as I do tonight. It's a blessing to see you all."

I have talked myself into a bit of a frenzy, but when I finish they actually all applaud me! They seem to understand what Harry and I have drawn up to do. While we eat, we discuss more details. James and Lily want to know why the teachers are here and when they hear the reason for their presence, they seethe along with us about Dumbledore's presumption.

Filius and Pomona promptly follow Minerva and Poppy in their own indignation, and when James and Lily add their bit about how Dumbledore knew, who their Secret Keeper was, our shared indignation reaches boiling point.

"I'm now convinced that he has an agenda. He practically seized my child before it was even born!" Lily cries.

"Have you also heard his reasoning about the 'Greater Good' ad nauseum?" Harry asks.

"You bet!" about five of us reply.

"Well, we're now doing the same, but we'll pull out once we've reached the important things and only help the magical community to heal from then on," I suggest.

"Exactly the right thing. I was going to ask you if you would help me to contact Hermione even before we go to Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall, but of course now that we have my brilliant mum, we can wait… though I do miss my best friend."

"Remember that you will have to earn her friendship first, Harry," Minerva cautions him.

A brilliant smile shows on his face.

"And it will be great to do that! Just like me, she's never had friends before and this time she'll hopefully sit with me on the Hogwarts Express. We'll have so much to talk about! Because there's lots we have in common, you know, and I'll make sure to have read Hogwarts, A History this time. I'm sure it's still going to be her bible when she learns about going to Hogwarts."

"She has no friends?"

"None. Though the reason why she hasn't any friends is different from mine. She's simply too brilliant. She's way ahead of everyone and all of her schoolmates either used her for her notes or homework or ridiculed her for her study habits. Hermione hides behind books. She finds peace in them and escapes from the cruelty of the other children. And then she came to Hogwarts only to find the same kind of prejudice, plus another one added to the mix for her origins in a Muggle family. Not many people understand her. Girls don't like her because she has no interest in girly things and boys don't like her because she keeps telling them off for not doing enough homework. But when she's coming out of herself, she's the best at scheming and planning. She's a great organiser! And she can be great fun, too."

"Does that sound like Moony to you, Padfoot?" James asks with a grin.

"Entirely. We also had to pull him out from behind his books at first," Sirius confirms.

"Methinks I'd like to meet the girl that seems to have ensnared my son so profoundly," Lily throws in, but she seems quite amused as well.

Harry blushes. He starts to stutter for a bit and then just shuts up. And blushes even more. All the adults around start to laugh, but I remind him:

"Harry, we're not laughing at you! It's just very funny to see you now. I know you're horribly embarrassed, but don't worry about it. Things will fall into place!"

It is a long evening still. James and Lily have to take their potions and go to bed. Sirius is quite exhausted, too. He follows them. I have taken the room we used to share when he was still living with the Potters. I send him up there and tell him to help himself to any of my nightclothes.

"I suppose you'll have to pass at the Ministry with James and Lily, to have them reinstated as living people. For Harry there's nothing that changes, he hasn't been in possession of his family vault yet after all, has he?" Minerva says.

"Not really. We did take out some money for his new wardrobe, but that's about it. More clothes shopping will have to be done tomorrow for James and Lily. They can't go without clothes any longer."

"As long as you take it easy. They should sit as often as possible during your shopping trip," Poppy reminds me.

"I'll see to it, Poppy."

The next few days are really exhausting. As there have been some 200 and something people who have been resurrected all over the country, the Ministry has a sensation to contend with, media going crazy and St. Mungo's is quite full of short-term patients who all need to be checked over.


	3. Bones Cleans Up

A/N:

I've had a reviewer who thinks the story is not very believable. Should there be others who think that – you're entitled to your own opinion of course. I see this as a bit of Magical Utopia. It's a 'rerun', an opportunity to do things over and make them better, of course there would be less deaths on the good side and more on the other. Of course there's a danger to fall heavily on the other side of the original story.

Personally I think that JKR wrote drama for drama's sake. I couldn't do that.

Take this with the grain of salt that I let things be solved by a bit of common sense and maybe an ounce of logic. Not ALL wizards and witches have to lack in that department

Thanks for the reviews and to all those who marked the story

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Bones runs wild**

(Remus)

The Aurors, who were sent out to every cemetery known in magical Britain and even quite a few non-magical ones, as well as private gravesites, have been busy with a very nice job – helping people back to life, back to their families and friends and everywhere in the country there were great celebrations for those victims that had come back out of a death-like state.

Within days the Unspeakables at the Department of Mysteries are busy digging up all information they can and start to dissect and study the Avada Kedavra curse again. They are supported by Amelia's DMLE, where they find wands from other Death Eaters who were at Azkaban.

"You know what? They should really capture some wands from people like Lucius Malfoy, I'm quite sure they'd find some more interesting people and THEY would probably tell Fudge and consorts that Malfoy was not as innocent as he poses," Sirius says with a grumble.

With all that's going on we have to reduce the socialising outside of the family to a minimum. But in all of that we leave Harry complete freedom to re-bond with his parents. He becomes quite clingy once he's digested the unexpected windfall for a bit. But he's constantly smiling! He's also clingy where Sirius is concerned, because of what happened in his former life. He had only just found his godfather again when Sirius was taken from him in a very cruel way. I wouldn't be surprised if his Dumbledore was quite relieved to have got rid of the Marauder so easily. I have been much easier to control than my wild friend. Though with everything I know now that won't happen again. No more guilt trips caused by Dumbledore for me!

Amelia promises to investigate Dumbledore's role in the affair. If he has officially testified that Sirius was the Secret Keeper then he has blatantly lied. From there it shouldn't be that hard to put him under Veritaserum.

Lo and behold that's what happens only a few weeks later. The first few Death Eaters have already begun to vanish from the streets and we have a couple of very distinctive Matchboxes at Potter Manor. A Ministry owl reaches us, bringing several letters to summon us before a newly formed Ministerial Commission of Enquiry to testify in several old affairs. The procedures should be interesting. Amelia got Fudge to form the Commission demanding strict use of Veritaserum for everyone who is called to testify there. She has been snooping around history and has found out how other governments handle such things. What she has come up with is ingenious. Basically, these are just hearings; no one who is called in is a defendant or even a witness. Everyone is asked questions and once the answers are collected and sighted, it will become clearer who is to be charged. The second part is not yet known to everyone out there. But I'm sure that several people will have to be brought in with the help of the Aurors.

The hearings are public, too. We go there to follow them from on the first day. While we've already taken care of some of the Death Eaters in the lower ranks who got off, the big fish are still roaming around. We have left them because the DMLE is now actively going for them. The ones we've taken off the streets won't be missed at all, but now that the DMLE is prosecuting them, there's no reason for us to go after them. Seeing Harry's memories Amelia has decided to preside over the procedures herself. A well-chosen group of Wizengamot members are in the judging panel. Everyone who has to testify can choose from one to three members in the twenty-person panel to be changed if the witnesses think they're biased against them. Everyone can of course come in with a barrister at his or her side.

Right at the start Amelia has called in Barty Crouch, who is brought from Azkaban. He's subjected to many questions that could not have been asked at Sirius' trial because they weren't related to his case. But now he brings some interesting insight to several old affairs, namely the one about sealing James and Lily's wills.

"Do you have any knowledge why the wills of two upstanding magical citizens were sealed after their – forced – deaths?"

"The Head of the Wizengamot ordered those wills to be sealed."

"Who was the Head of the Wizengamot at the time?" Amelia asks, just to have Dumbledore's name in the minutes for a first time.

"Albus Dumbledore."

"Did he give you any reason why these wills were to be sealed?"

"He wished to take the role of the Magical Guardian of the deceased's son."

"And you found nothing wrong in that?" Amelia asks, aghast.

"No."

"At what time did he inform you of this sealing, do you remember?"

"If I remember correctly that would have been in the morning of November 1st."

"At the trial for Sirius Black we were already able to find out that he informed you of the Potters' Secret Keeper's identity being Sirius Black. Through the Potter wills, we know that he knew that it was in fact Peter Pettigrew, therefore swearing a perjury. Did you officially record this testimony?"

"Yes. It was in the file for the Black Case."

"Where we indeed found it. It was, therefore, an officially certified statement?"

"To my knowledge, yes, it was."

"Thank you, Mr. Crouch. We now move on to some other questions pertaining to the trials of suspected members of Tom Marvolo Riddle's, self-proclaimed Lord Voldemort, not all that secret terrorist movement of the Death Eaters. There were many trials, but hardly many convictions. We have here the files of 186 persons, of which all have received trials and the transcriptions of these procedures. 172 of these suspects were acquitted, in 138 cases they were acquitted on the grounds of having been subjected to the Imperius curse. I would like to know from you in what function you took part in these trials?"

"I was the primary judge in at least half of them."

"Have you been influenced in any of these trials?"

Crouch obviously doesn't like giving that answer. But the drug does not allow him to refuse an answer; therefore, he presses it out:

"Yes."

"Who influenced you?"

"In most of the cases it was Mr. Cornelius Fudge. In a few, it was Mr. Lucius Malfoy. I remember that some of the times it was Ms Dolores Umbridge. One or two cases Albus Dumbledore."

"What method of influence was used?"

"Primarily money."

A collective gasp is heard all around. Barty Crouch, the epitome of correctness – bribed? I know it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad.

"Who used money?"

"I don't know. I believe it might have been Lucius Malfoy's money in the first place."

"Were there other means of influence used?"

"Pressure. Threats. Guilt as well. I was already so deeply involved that after a number of trials they used pressure and threats."

"You mentioned Albus Dumbledore. What did he do?"

"Mostly impress the necessity to protect the few Death Eaters who served him as spies, I think."

"Who were these Death Eaters?"

"Severus Snape and Augustus Rookwood."

The only surprise here is Rookwood. Dumbledore has lost that trial, because to this day, Rookwood is still in prison. Snape though went scot-free. I'm still highly in doubt as to his integrity.

The more people are called in to testify the more we get a picture of the Death Eaters' deceiving on one end and Dumbledore's on the other end. It looks though as he's not to be caught in an outright crime, his manipulations have been much more subtle than the Death Eaters'. I begin to wonder if not in the next year or so Dumbledore is to be joined with his ancestors in what will look like a very natural death. It's his time, after all, he's over 150 years old, and no one should live that long if they just play puppet games with everyone else around themselves.

Other people mentioned in the testimonies have to testify and it starts to become very interesting in the pureblood realm. Sirius is called in as one of the first, and takes a seat in the stands.

"Mr. Black, thank you for testifying of your own free will. I would like to ask you some general questions to get a feel of your family circumstances. As far as my research shows there aren't very many family members left?"

"No, there aren't. From the main family it's only my grandfathers Arcturus and Pollux, myself and my first-degree cousins Andromeda Tonks-Black and Narcissa Malfoy-Black left. Their sister Bellatrix Lestrange-Black doesn't account for very much as she's in Azkaban with a life sentence. No one is left from my father's generation. Extended family consists of a number of great aunts and their offspring."

"What is your general impression of the persons you have just mentioned?"

"My grandfathers are both weak personalities. Both of them are, by years, still in their prime, but the constant inbreeding in the family has not been very conducive to their health. My father was a bit better off, gene-wise; he was from a marriage outside of the usual circles, though my grandmother was still a pureblood. My mother was my father's second cousin. I was lucky in that I got my father's looks and my mother's brain, which was thankfully in order. My younger brother was a Death Eater, but was killed by his own associates when he tried to get out of the fold. My father died in the same year, but he killed himself. Mother was sharp as a needle in terms of intelligence, but she was as mad as a rabid dog. As was her youngest brother Cygnus. The only one in that part of the family with a good brain on his shoulder and no mental deficiency was Alphard. Unfortunately, he died already in the mid-70s from a disease; he wasn't killed by anyone. He left his fortune to Andromeda and myself, which made us both independent from the family and allowed us to live on our own."

"Was there any Death Eater in your family other than your brother and your cousin?"

"I'm quite certain that my other cousin, Narcissa, is one. Neither my father nor my mother participated in an active role, but they certainly advocated the beliefs of the Death Eaters and considered themselves superior to most other witches and wizards. You might know that the Black family lasts back further than all of the Hogwarts Founders, to about the mid-sixth century. The other family members who might have been active Death Eaters are all dead. My grandparents were mostly fine, though I wouldn't put my hand in the fire for Grandfather Pollux. He is weak, but sly."

"What is your opinion of families, which your own family members would have had as friends?"

"The Blacks don't really have friends, Madam Bones. They have acquaintances at best. But the people they regarded as acquaintances and like-minded associates would have probably taken part in the Death Eaters more actively. My brother was drawn in by others in my generation who were influencing him very strongly. He was under much pressure during his Hogwarts education, when he was in Slytherin. Headmaster Dumbledore never really suppressed this political agitation. He didn't support it, but no proper action was taken to eliminate the agitation. As I have cut my ties with the family at my earliest convenience I'm not fully aware of the moods and conditions within the other families, but I would strongly advise to call in every Avery, Nott, Malfoy or Umbridge you might find to question in this regard."

Another painful mentioning of the Headmaster. We might actually get him out of Hogwarts if this goes on. And then he's much easier to pluck! It's time Minerva calls in the school governors, but several of them are already in the auditorium, so I think they will get the picture together soon. If she contacts them now, she'll probably have an easy time.

I think Amelia enjoys this work a lot. She's really in her element, gathering as many opinions and as much information as she can get. Everyone she questions leads her to more evidence.

For three months, these investigations are conducted. We don't miss many sessions; we think it's more important to learn what we can from them than sending Harry to school that he doesn't really need anymore anyway. He follows the procedures with the same interest we have and when we go home in the afternoons we usually mull over what we've learned. We're not actively pursuing the Death Eaters right now, it seems that they will get theirs, but if any of them evade justice once Amelia slaps charges on them and tries them again we'll be on their trails.

Of course, we're all waiting for some of the highest ranked Death Eaters to be called in who got off eight years ago. The first one is Theodore Nott. He has to be summoned by Aurors and does not willingly take the Veritaserum. That alone is a clear sign that he's hiding something. The court orders to restrain him to be questioned.

"Mr. Nott, have you been a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever used Unforgivable Curses?"

"Yes."

"Which ones?"

"All of them."

"So you have killed?"

"Yes."

"How often have you killed?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly know! I haven't counted."

"You were acquitted in your trial, held on March 15th, 1982. Have you truly been under the influence of an Imperius curse when you killed and tortured?"

"Oh, nonsense, of course not. It was an ingenious idea of Lucius Malfoy's barrister that we should use this excuse. No truth potion was used in our trials, Malfoy's barrister saw to that."

"How did he achieve this?"

"By bribing or intimidating the judge, of course. And by threatening the jury members, too."

"Who was included in this conspiracy?"

"Oh, just about everyone of any importance and certainly everyone in the Inner Circle. Only the Lestranges were stupid enough to go about their usual business after their trials."

"You must be very proud of yourself for getting one above the law, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. We have never stopped our agitation and it has actually worked much better than with the Dark Lord still alive. We have bought most of the new legislation put in place since his downfall to prepare the grounds when he shall return!"

"Who is 'we'?"

Nott names the usual suspects and quite a few persons beyond. Many women are in the conspiracy, almost as many as there are men! We shudder as we listen to him naming all these people. It so happens that Dumbledore is in the room as well. He's seething. I just wonder why he's seething, because Amelia actually brings these people to justice now, albeit a bit late, or because he's rightfully horrified by their machinations.

Malfoy strolls in when he's called. The way he acts, I'm pretty sure that he has some counter-potion or something against the Veritaserum in his body. The casual air he has seems to be suspicious enough, so that Amelia orders the Aurors to check him over. As far as I know no potion or spell exists that would counter-act Veritaserum fully, but even a bit would be distorting the truth. Luckily, the Aurors are able to trace that. An Auror steps up to Amelia and whispers something to her. She nods and the Auror takes his position next to the chair with the chained Malfoy. Amelia writes a short note and then turns to the court.

"Auror Robards has just informed me that he has found traces of a counter-potion to Veritaserum. I will therefore arrest Mr. Malfoy to hold him in Ministry holding facilities until such time this counter-agent has run its course. Does the panel accept this verdict?"

The vote through the panel is a majority for yes. A vast majority even, as they have all become very suspicious of any of the former Death Eaters and their true characters.

Malfoy's casual air is gone within seconds. He becomes aggressive and uses every means he has in a room where he's enclosed and apparition wards are set up that he can't evade. He's more mouth than magical power anyway, no matter how haughty he usually acts. Robards, the vote of confidence of the panel in his back, simply stuns Malfoy and levitates him out of the auditorium and straight to an unknown place especially set up for just such cases.

As Narcissa Malfoy is questioned next, she's tested and follows her husband's way on the spot. Several more former Death Eaters are called in and they have all been as clever as the Malfoys once they found out how the questioning would be taking place, but after several days and more attempts even the most stupid former Death Eater – Julius Crabbe – has learned that only flight out of the country would help them to evade the Commission. Out of the original 172 acquitted Death Eaters almost all are still alive and some fifty have been able to leave the country in the past month. All others had to be arrested for the questioning. Malfoy of course has tried to play the blasé nobleman, but this time he has a sharp cookie as an adversary. One who's able not only to see through his trickery, but also capable to foresee what other tricks he might come up with.

When he finally is brought back into the room, he is definitely free of the counter-agents. He's been kept isolated and his barrister has only been let inside of his cell with one layer of clothing, which has been stripped of everything. Therefore, the truth potion is now applied and Malfoy is unable to lie his way out. During the procedure, all panelled Wizengamot members have been strictly controlled with a tracking and spying spell they have willingly taken upon them to protect themselves from any attempts to bribe or intimidate them.

"Before we start on the actual questioning I have here the results of the supervision of our judging panel members. They have agreed to carry a tracking and a spying spell to protect themselves from attempts of bribery or intimidation. Thirteen of the twenty members have been accosted. They have valiantly denied all attempts, but they have handed the memories, names and details about each case of attempted bribery and intimidation. I'm afraid that based on these attempts I have to exclude Barrister Pritchard from the room. I would strongly advise you to leave the country if you do not wish to be charged with these attempts and sent to Azkaban for a period no shorter than five years. We shall keep an eye out for you, Mr. Pritchard."

Malfoy's barrister seems to value his skin more than his clients' and skedaddles immediately.

"Very well. Onto the matter at hand. The potion should now be working. What did your brother Secundus call you as a child, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Stinky Blinky," Malfoy is forced to answer.

He looks livid, but Amelia grins. She got the proof that the potion seems to work. He'd never reveal that on his own! Everyone in the audience grins maliciously.

"Important facts now, Mr. Malfoy. What was your relationship with Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

"With who?"

"The one who called himself Lord Voldemort, Mr. Malfoy. Did you not know his real name?"

"I know no one with such a common name," Malfoy manages to say and he sounds disgusted.

"You do not? But you do know Lord Voldemort, do you not?"

"Yes, I do. But you shall not use the name of my master!"

"So you did not know that Lord Voldemort is the son of one Merope Gaunt and a Muggle named Tom Riddle? It astonishes me that you would accept anyone above you, let alone a half-blood. What was your relationship with him, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I was his second in command. I collected his wishes and organised the staff. I sent them out to do the Dark Lord's bidding. And he most certainly was not a half-blood!"

"Have you ever used an Unforgivable curse?"

"Never!"

The public in the room gasps. Amelia doesn't let herself be deterred, she knows that this was a general question; as long the defendant doesn't consider the curses unforgivable, he can deny the question, so she just grins and asks on:

"Have you ever cast Avada Kedavra, Imperius or Cruciatus?"

"Yes."

"There we are, why not at the first question? You have willingly killed, violated and tortured, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Was that pleasurable for you?" she asks, shocking everyone.

"Of course."

This first part was for the possibility to put him away and ship him to Azkaban, but she keeps asking questions to press as much information from him as possible. He's very informative now that the Veritaserum works on him and the court scribes note everything down. The Aurors file it all away for further use, too.

Amelia is taking full advantage of the law, which guarantees a life sentence to Azkaban for anyone who ever uses an Unforgivable Curse. The purebloods have, for some reason, never tried to abolish this one, probably in the firm belief that they would stay in power and would never enforce it among themselves. We get some valuable information out in the public through Malfoy's questioning. The first is the fact that ALL Death Eaters have the Mark, that they have acquired it on their own free will and that only Voldemort could place it on their wrists. Under Veritaserum they all confirm this detail. Amelia sends out a small group of Aurors who have to check the whole Ministry staff from the Department Heads down to the smallest official. All of those bearing the Mark are to be arrested on the spot. Before the staff even has an inkling of what's going to happen the Aurors have locked down the whole building. Every department is searched by a pair of Aurors. One calls all officials into a conference room, which has been spelled shut and warded against any kind of apparition, the other checks the individual employees, who have been forced to hand over their wands. Each clean employee is let out of the room immediately, reunited with his or her wand. The ones who have Dark Marks on their wrists are all stunned and taken into investigative custody. These won't be standing before a panel of Wizengamot members in a hearing, but will face a full trial.

The Dementors must be happy – so much fresh prey to play with! They have received some 250 new prisoners. A handful of them for only a few years, but the vast majority have gone in for life.

Every Ministry employee carrying a Dark Mark has been questioned and the first question is always the same: Have you ever cast Avada Kedavra, Cruciatus or Imperius. If the answer is yes, the defendant is already sentenced.

I wonder what Dumbledore thinks. As much as I remember – now – he hasn't done more than speak up occasionally at the original trials. James, now restored to good health, re-instated into the Auror squad as an Auror, and in possession of his Wizengamot seat, accosts Dumbledore one day:

"Why the fuck have you never asked these questions before; like right after the war? You were the Head of the Wizengamot then, too, it was well within your power to do so? Why would you have accepted the same old inefficiency throughout the Ministry to continue? Why is Amelia's department just about the only one fully and properly functioning? You are responsible, Albus Dumbledore. It's not only your competence it's your bloody responsibility!"

Dumbledore looks like he's aged another thirty years in the past few weeks.

"It seems like I've outgrown myself, James, and I apologise for my errors..." is all he says.

"You should darn well step down, Dumbledore, that's all I'm saying. And some other old men should follow on the spot, because you have done nothing to rebuild the society, you've just allowed it to deteriorate even more!"

James moves out of the way, too angry to be drawn into a longer conversation. But he says aloud what many of the younger Wizengamot members think. Just as he wants to leave the courtroom, he's stopped by Augusta Longbottom.

"Mr. Potter, a word, please."

We turn around and greet the old lady respectfully. James knows now what happened to Frank and Alice. Mrs Longbottom pulls us to a nearby empty office and says:

"Have you been informed about the destiny of my son and my daughter-in-law, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, I have, Madam Longbottom. I'm truly sorry about what has happened."

"Would you mind to go and see them? They aren't very responsive, but you were such good friends, so I wanted to ask you if you would be so kind to go and visit them."

"Yes, of course we'll visit them, Madam Longbottom. They were among our best friends after all," Lily assures her.

"Thank you all! You can go in any time; it's always open. After all these years, I'm strongly thinking about taking them home. There's not much of a therapy St. Mungo's can offer."

"We'll go and see them right now, Madam. I'd like to cast a careful eye on their treatment. Alice was my closest friend for a long time and I miss her terribly," said Lily.

"If anyone can find out if there is something going wrong it would be you, Mrs Potter," Madam Longbottom says with a smile.

"Would you mind to allow Harry to play with Neville in the meantime, Madam Longbottom? Or do you want to come along, Harry?"

"I don't really know them... but I'd really like to meet Neville again, if I may, Madam Longbottom!"

"Of course. We can take the floo at the Atrium, Harry. Would you come by my home after your visit with Frank and Alice, Mrs Potter?"

"Yes, I would, and I would certainly let you know if it takes longer. Harry can floo to our place when you wish to send him home."

"Very well. I should hope to see you in a little while."

While Harry happily trots off with Madam Longbottom we take the floo to St. Mungo's and visit our old friends. As we go up to the Janus Thickey Ward I look at the other three and say:

"More victims of Dumbledore's inefficiency. You won't find many people less violent than I am, but even I would have those people dealt with, for Merlin's sake."

"I think so, too. Ah, here we are."

As we reach the reception area of the ward, Lily asks for the Longbottom's healer.

"That would be Healer Smythe over there, madam. May I ask your name?"

"Lily Potter. I was one of the reawakened Avada Kedavra victims, but we've been treated privately. If at all possible I would like to ask Healer Smythe some questions."

"I call him over. Will you please take a seat in the meantime?"

"Yes, thank you."

A moment later, we're joined by the healer. Lily asks him:

"Hello, Healer Smythe. I am Lily Potter. Alice Longbottom used to be one of my closest friends. Her mother-in-law has asked us to come and visit her."

"You are very welcome, Mrs Potter. The ward is closed for exit, but not for entry. You would just have to give us a sign when you come back out."

"Thank you. May I ask you a question or two about their condition? What do I have to expect?"

"They're very easy to guide, but almost non-responsive. They have been driven insane by an extensive exposure to the Cruciatus curse."

"Do you have other patients with the same symptoms here?"

"No, they are the only ones. No one who survived the extended exposure has shown their kind of symptoms. But then there aren't many who survived it for more than an hour."

"What kind of treatment do they get?"

"We have ceased active treatment years ago when we found them completely unresponsive. We are only giving them the best care we can."

"Hm. Okay. We'd like to see them now, thank you for your information."

Smythe guides us over to the ward and holds the door open for us. We find ourselves in a corridor with a few rooms. All doors are open and in the third room inside, we find Frank and Alice. They have aged terribly, and when I greet them they greet back, but completely like they were greeting strangers.

Lily rushes to give Alice a warm hug.

"Oh, Alice! How I hate to see you like this. You were always the sharpest tongue around, what have they done to you?"

Alice doesn't say a word. She fishes in her pocket though and hands Lily a piece of blue cellophane. Lily takes it but starts to look into Alice's eyes. She fixes her stare so that Alice keeps looking back and it seems like Lily is letting herself into Alice's head. All of a sudden, there's a scream from both of them. And then Alice throws her arms around Lily.

"Lily! Lily, what are you doing here, you're dead!" she shouts.

Lily keeps staring into Alice's eyes and replies:

"I'm back. I wasn't quite as dead as you thought I was, Alice. Can you hear me now?"

"Yes," Alice says, with a voice that sounds like a child's.

"I think you are trapped in your own mind, Alice. You can let go now, you can come out again, sweetie!" Lily says.

"But it's going to hurt so badly!" Alice protests, still with the baby voice.

"It won't. It has been years ago, Alice. Neville has grown in the meantime, and he'll soon go to Hogwarts. You need to wake up now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Alice, I am sure. Have I ever lied to you?"

"No. But how do I wake up."

"You go to sleep first. Just for a moment. It would be best if you lied down, Alice. That's good. Now sleep, sweetie! I need my old friend back!"

It's amazing. We watch as Alice falls asleep and wakes up a few minutes later. She blinks, completely bewildered, but the lost and gone look has left her face. James, Sirius and I start to smile. Does this mean that Lily just managed what the healers haven't been able to do in the past almost six years?

"Lily? – Where am I? What has happened? You died over a year ago!"

Lily smiles at Alice.

"Oh these stupid idiot healers! Alice, we have died, but we've come back. We aren't sure how it happened yet, but it's being investigated. You're at St. Mungo's long-term care ward for extended exposure to Cruciatus leading to insanity. I just learned that you aren't insane at all, you were just trapped inside of your own mind."

Alice's eyes, already round, get rounder and bigger.

"When was that?"

"Summer of 1983, sweetie."

"And what is it now?"

"Summer of 1989, Alice."

"Darn! My Neville is already nine years old and I missed it all?"

"I'm sorry. Just like I missed being there for my Harry since he was 15 months old."

Alice understandably breaks out in tears. James steps up and gently asks Lily:

"What did you do, love?"

"Just used some Legilimency, darling. I don't know why they haven't tried that before, but it was easy to get inside of her. She's there, whole, and healthy, just protecting herself from the onslaught of pain. All this time she's been hiding out inside of herself. Now I'm going to try the same with Frank."

Lily is just as successful with Frank. And as we are reconnecting with the two the healer comes in and asks, angry:

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

And while he notices that his two patients, whom the healers had stopped treating on the whole seem to have been restored to their full capacity Lily turns to him again and tears right into the man:

"What am I doing? I'm visiting my old friends who have been here, from what I hear for six years and on the by-way I've healed what you claimed was untreatable. Would you please tell me if anyone has ever tried Legilimency on them?"

"Of course not! That would be mind-rape!"

"Did you think of it as a possible treatment? And if yes, why did you not ask for permission from Lady Longbottom, which you would certainly have received?"

"We did not consider it a wise movement, Madam Potter."

"Well, I'll tell you what, I've just done it then. It was the only thing needed, too. My friends are now back to their normal selves and will probably sue St. Mungo's for neglect and completely wrong treatment. We will now ask for their papers and then leave here with them to take them back to their family. You've held them back here for more than long enough."

"You can't just come in here and take patients from the long-term ward, Madam! I'll have the orderlies come in and get you out!"

"Oh, you think so? James, send a message to Madam Bones and the Aurors. I think we have a case for them to investigate. Who knows if it's not Dumbledore who has kept them in this state… he must have done this in his efforts to isolate Harry…"

"Done, my love…"

A few minutes later, we have Hestia and two of her colleagues in the ward. Smythe has gone slightly quiet and when we explain the situation to Hestia, who's completely baffled about Alice and Frank, she says:

"Why the fuck would you keep these people here? They're obviously healed."

"They can't just leave!" the healer insists.

"Well, then discharge them, for Merlin's sake!"

Frank speaks up for the first time:

"We have been in here for so many years and hardly knew what or who we were, but I always knew I was not insane. It only took someone who was ready to look inside of us to find out what was wrong. I'm sure that someone already did it before, only I can't remember. I have had some light moments, and was ready to leave that cage in my mind, but then the Legilimencer pulled back immediately. Whoever it was obviously didn't want to help us. If you do not discharge us immediately you will find that my family can ruin your life…"

That was what it took – the man left to fill out the discharge papers and handed the originals to Frank and Alice. We're all giddy and happy and Hestia pulls Alice into a tight embrace.

"Emmeline and I thought we were the last ones left and now you two are back! Do you even have an idea how wonderful that is for us? We must meet sometime, okay?"

"Of course! We need to have a girls' day at least once every two weeks. I'll send you an owl about it, okay?" says Lily.

"That's fine! Will you take them to Madam Longbottom now?"

"Oh yes! Straight away!"

"I'll send her a Patronus message, Lily, so she won't be too shocked," I say and send out my little friend.

Together we floo to the Longbottom family home, where we are welcomed by a teary Augusta who can hardly believe what she sees.

"My word, Mrs Potter! How on earth did you do that?"

"Easy. A bit of Legilimency was all it took. I thought I would try that to get some contact and it worked like a song!"

Augusta hugs her son and daughter-in-law, laughing and crying at the same time and then she invites us all to dinner.

"Harry is still here. Neville and he have quickly become friends and they're currently out in the garden, where Neville loves to take care of his plants. I'll have to prepare Neville, Frank and Alice, otherwise he thinks he's gone mad when he sees you here."

"Should we help them to get something in terms of clothes?" Lily asks.

"Would you do that? Your suite is untouched; you will find it just as you left it when you were here the last time."

"Thank you, mum! We'll go and freshen up. Then we'll see Neville and Harry and then we'll talk, okay?" said Frank.

"That's perfectly fine, dear!"

We help Frank and Alice and Madam Longbottom rushes outside to call in Harry and Neville. When we return to the salon, we find both boys, already cleaned up, and chatting excitedly. Frank and Alice look at them from the door and both smile.

"It's nice to see them as friends. That's what we always wanted, isn't it?" says Frank.

"It is. It's hard to believe they only met today," I say.

Alice stares at me.

"What?"

Lily nods and explains:

"Prepare yourself for a long story, Alice. A long and dreadful one!"

But before we tell a dreadfully long story, we are privileged to witness the reunion of Neville and his parents. Since Madam Longbottom has told him ahead, he's not shocked, but even a bit shy. Frank and Alice pull him in their arms, without many words at first but then they start to talk to him and find out how their son has turned out so far. Neville looks a lot like Alice. But he seems to have all of Frank's dignity. It's wonderful to see this!

And then we tell the long story. We tell it together and when we come to the end, we have a stunned Frank and an even more stunned Alice.

"Oh dear. That's why you said that about Dumbledore…" says Alice.

"Yes, that's why. Right now, we're doing our utmost to neutralise him. I don't think he's evil, but he has definitely used us like puppets and I don't think he really cared that much about our state, dead or dead to the world, just as long as he had his prophesized weapon at his disposal to form, as he liked. Poor Harry has carried the brunt of his machinations, but others have suffered almost as badly. Neville is one, he had to grow up without you two and Hermione, a future school friend of these two and a classmate pulled the short straw, too. Not to speak of Sirius, who got the worst part, being thrown into Azkaban for something he hadn't even done when at least one person knew exactly that he was innocent. He's even sworn a perjury, Alice! What does that tell you about Dumbledore? And then there's poor Remus, who Dumbledore robbed of eight years of his life through memory and compulsion charms," Lily rants.

"And he's bound his phoenix to himself when Fawkes was really meant to become Harry's companion. We're still looking to undo those spells so that the bird is free again. He's already lost the trust of three of his heads of house. The only one who probably is completely out of the loop for the moment is the fourth one, and who do you think is that?" Sirius tells them.

"Can't even begin to imagine. Probably not good old Sluggy then, is it?"

"Nope. Dumbledore's brought in Snape! Severus bloody Snape! Can you believe it?" seethes James.

"No! But he's a Death Eater!" Frank is enraged.

"He was. Claimed to have turned away from them and became a spy for Dumbledore. Not so sure I really want to believe that though. I'll want to put him the question under Veritaserum, because I'm quite sure that the man is totally unrepentant."

"I look forward to see how he reacts when he sees you for the first time, James," Sirius snickers.

"And all mature, too," Lily adds.

"Oh, I'll be 100% mature, believe me! But I bet he's lost nothing of his animosity."

"Do you know what I found the worst about the whole thing with Snape?" Harry asks. "Not only does he not teach, he just throws everything on the board and tells his students to do what was there. Not one bit of information, not one bit of actual lecturing about the treatment of ingredients. He's biased completely. If you're not a Slytherin, you have no chance. Hermione was easily the best in our year in that class, but did she ever get the marks that she deserved? Not a once! He kept putting her down because she knew all the answers. Took points for correctly brewed potions and correctly answered questions and perfect essays. One step out of the line of anybody not Slytherin and he doled out detentions all over the place. Dumbledore never did anything against this attitude. He let Snape act the way he pleased. Dumbledore didn't seem to care about the fact that almost no non-Slytherin student went for NEWTs Potions anymore. I'm a good cook and I would have done fine – but Snape made it a point not only to antagonise me, but he really had it in for me. For a long time I never knew why, and when I found out that he just did to me what he would have wanted to do to you, dad; that was just the drop that brought the barrel to run over. I only hate a very few people, but Snape is definitely in that select group. The absolute worst was that I learned that it was him, who overheard the part of the Prophecy that Voldemort knew and then he had the gall to tell me that he never wanted mum to die because he loved her. I ask you, dad, would you treat the child of a loved one like that? He was really the worst of the worst teachers. Only just about topped by Umbridge, but I only had her for a year, Snape I had to suffer for six!"

"Umbridge? As in Dolores Umbridge?" Hestia asks.

"That's the one."

"What did she do?"

"Came to Hogwarts the year Voldemort returned – to squash all the rumours at Hogwarts that he had, in fact, returned. Almost all year she acted out a position she invented, called the High Inquisitor. Sacked the Divinations teacher, tried to sack Hagrid, who was our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, had Professor McGonagall attacked by Aurors, who had to use about half a dozen stunners on her to bring her down. Professor McGonagall tried to protect Hagrid. Right at the start she put me in a week's worth of detentions because I insisted that Voldemort had returned. Made me write lines with a blood quill. That was in my fifth year. When Voldemort took over the Ministry Umbridge was there all the way, happily doing his bidding and erecting concentration camps for the Muggle-borns, where they pushed them all in and then treated them almost the same as the Nazis treated the Jews. Many, many of them died that year. Ted Tonks, too, Sirius. And it was Umbridge who was responsible for it all."

"Well, if she's a Death Eater she'll be caught in one of the many raids in the Ministry," Hestia said, trusting her colleagues to catch the woman.

"The trouble is that she was never marked," Harry tells her.

"She isn't even marked? Hell, what a horror of a person!"

"The horror she spouts whenever she opens her mouth is just the worst sort! And like Voldemort she isn't a proper pureblood, you know, but she's been able to hide that very well! She is a protégé of Fudge's. She got so many legislations through that pushed magical beings to the edge of our society it makes you vomit!"

"That one is already on Amelia's list to be eliminated. She just wanted to make sure that the Death Eaters are gone before she starts to meddle around in the government," Hestia says with a grin.

Then she has to go, she's still on duty after all.

Frank, Sirius, James and I exchange a few glances. It seems they're with me on seeing to it that this Umbridge person has a very fatal accident very soon.

"She really sounds awful, Harry. I still find that you have yet more horrors to tell from your former life, love…" Lily whispers, with a sad look on her face.

Harry moves to her and she pulls him into her arms. I think that in this life he finds a lot of comfort and consolation to make up for his first try. It's very nice to see that he welcomes the comfort, too.

"Do you think we might find the Grangers soon, mum? I want to meet my best friend again…" Harry mumbles into Lily's robes.

She exchanges a grin with James, who gives it right back.

"We might do. It shouldn't be too difficult. Do you have her address?"

"She lives in Oxford. Her parents have a dental practice."

"Well, that's probably sufficient information. Phone books usually list both, the business and the private address."

"Great. How about tomorrow?"

We all laugh. Harry blushes, but I find it absolutely sweet! Inside he's 35, but now that he's back in a child's body, it seems that there's a child in him as well.

At dinner, he sits next to Neville, and the two of them chat together as if they had known each other for a long time. And when we go home, I ask him:

"How do you get through that with someone your own age, when inside you're actually 35, Harry?"

"Well, with Neville it wasn't very hard. I know him well from before and I know what to talk about to get through to him. Neville is an absolute genius when it comes to plants and he's a complete dictionary of plants inside. So I put a few questions about his garden and he pulled me out there to show me everything. I've done a lot of gardening at the Dursleys', but I'm completely self-taught, so I didn't mind finding my way to him through gardening."

"Did he ask you about your former life?" James asks.

"Yes, but I said I wouldn't say anything about us kids, because I think it might be better to let things run naturally. If I told him that he was scared of Snape and regularly blew up his cauldron because Snape was breathing down his neck especially mean in every Potions lesson, what do you think he'd expect and do? He'd already bring that feeling to Hogwarts in two years and that wouldn't be good for him, now would it? So I'm not telling him things about school. Anything political I have no problem, because these things should be changed soon anyway!"

Lily nods and says:

"I think you're doing the right thing, Harry. It would only condition Neville in a way that would be very hindering, not helping. I used to be friends with Snape, but he blew it when he started to call me a Mudblood, and worse. I always chided James and Sirius for their taunting, but in the end I had to admit that Snape deserved it. He didn't have an easy childhood, far from it, but it is no excuse to become as arrogant as to blame everyone else for one's own faults just because of that."

"Oh, that's his favourite character trait – to blame everyone for his own faults. He has the right to wrong everyone because he was wronged throughout his childhood after all. He never grew up! Took out his hatred of dad on me, but I wasn't the only one he treated like dung. Poor Neville never stood a chance! If he wasn't so good at Herbology and knew everything there was to know about all the plants we used in Potions, he'd never have managed to stay above pass-mark. Hermione helped him as much as she could, but in the end, Snape ruined the learning experience for Neville. Hermione herself didn't get a good word either. While he refrained to call her out for being a Muggle-born, he still had enough ammunition through her eagerness to learn and her study habits, which, paired with a photographic memory, allowed her to have all answers ready at call. She's a prodigy, believe me! Well, you'll see when you'll meet her. I'm sure you'll like her a lot, mum!"

"The way you describe your Hermione I'm sure I will like her, Harry," Lily assures him and grins.

She has taken to her son remarkably well. In the whirlwind of the past few months, she's managed to find her way to him quite easily. It seems that Harry has had a harder time, because he's heard a lot about his parents. Now that he actually learns to know them, he corrects a few images he's had in his head about them. He tells me that he's seen a memory in Snape's Pensieve, in his fifth year, a very disturbing one obviously. I remember the incident very well; it was when Snape called Lily a Mudblood for the first time. James had behaved very ugly, bullied Snape badly, but Snape just showed his true character then. Lily has lost her sympathy completely after Sirius had told Snape in an act of rage that if he wanted to see where I went each month, he only had to follow me down the path through the Whomping Willow. It must have been the only time Snape ever did something that Sirius told him to do, and it was near fatal. Sirius of course picked up James to go and get him back and James was really playing with his life when he pushed Snape back out of the tunnel. I overheard Lily telling him off for being so stupid a short while later. I was mad with Sirius for weeks after the incident. It was the first time Sirius had really done something absolutely stupid and he'd lost my trust for a long time then. But I always knew he'd never wanted Snape dead, he really thought that Snape would never do anything he told him to do anyway.

When we reach our home, we all sit together for a while before going to bed. Since Harry's not really a small child anymore, James and Lily don't set him a bedtime. They expect he knows when he's tired enough to go to bed. And he does! He goes to bed when he knows he should. His small size still demands that he sleeps more hours in the night than an adult does.

"I did want to look up Hermione tomorrow, mum and dad, but I think we should go for the first Horcrux instead… Toothgrinder has responded that Director Ragnok would agree to take the item out of Bellatrix Lestrange's vault…"

"What's that about Bella?" Sirius asks, having heard the name of his cousin.

"One of Voldemort's dastardly Horcruxes is in her vault; it's a cup that goes back to Helga Hufflepuff, a golden cup out of her possession. Voldemort stole it when he had left Hogwarts and worked for Borgin and Burke's shop. It's one of three of his Horcruxes we can get fairly quick."

"What are the other two?" James enquires.

"One must be at Sirius' family home, in Grimmauld Place. It's a locket from Salazar Slytherin. Your brother Regulus stole it from the place where Voldemort hid it. He ordered Kreacher, your house-elf, to take him there and take it back there to destroy it. I suppose your brother had no idea how to do that, because Kreacher had been unable to do it. It must still be there to this day."

"We can go there and get it. My parents are both dead and as you know, my brother has also died. I'm very glad he didn't die a murderer! We never knew what happened to him!"

"I don't know for sure, but I've been in the cave on the south coast, where Voldemort hid this particular Horcrux. You have to know that you can only go in by giving some of your blood, and then you get to a lake in that cavern with an island in the centre. To get there you'd have to go through water filled with Inferi! There's a boat, but it normally only carries one person. And once you get to the island, there's a basin on a stand, and in that basin is the locket. But it's in a potion and you have to keep drinking that potion, which is poisoned, too, until you get to the locket. Regulus must have done it and died from the poison. Before he did that, he ordered Kreacher to take the locket back to Grimmauld and destroy it. But he didn't know how and couldn't tell Kreacher either."

We all think about this, shocked.

"I think he did try to get out of the fold…" Sirius whispers. "But to think that this is how he died…"

"Do you think we could first see about the Cup and then the locket tomorrow?" Harry asks.

"Of course we could," mum decides. "Do you know where that locket is?"

"Yes, I do. I remember when we first saw it when we had to clean up Grimmauld Place. We wanted to throw it into the cursed stuff and put away with it, but Kreacher kept pulling things out of the bags and hide them. Poor fellow really was out of sorts."

"Poor? I really like most house-elves, but this one? No way! As much as he admired Regulus, he hated me when I was a kid. He was ordered by my mother never to let me out and I had him breathing down my neck whenever I was at home. Not nice. You have no chance to get out of a house-elf's surveillance, believe me."

"Well, I didn't like him very much, to be honest, but when we started out on our Horcrux hunt he at least got a lot nicer and was quite helpful."

"Okay, so that's Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup, but you mentioned a third one?" Lily says.

"That one will be more difficult to find. I'll have to apparate you to the place where it's hidden. It's completely deserted and if you want to get to it you probably have to be a Parselmouth."

"I'd say it's impossible then," says James, disappointed.

"It's not. In my former life it was Dumbledore who retrieved it, but at the cost of his left hand. Hopefully won't happen to us, because I happen to be a Parselmouth…"

"What?" James asks, completely shocked.

"Yes. Seems like this is something I got from Voldemort's curse. Dumbledore thought he'd passed some of his powers to me, and this was among the stuff."

"Oh. Okay. In this case it could be dead useful," James admits, relieved.

"There's nothing wrong with being able to talk to snakes, dad! I happen to like them a lot, you know. And being able to understand them is sometimes quite funny. Most snakes never shut up. They're actually right chatterboxes! Anyway, the Horcrux is hidden in the house of the Gaunts, who were the last direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Seems like they were once quite wealthy but they had lost almost everything over the centuries. They were also inbred to an irresponsible degree. Voldemort's mother was the last one of a family of three, father, daughter and son, and she ensnared the local Muggle squire with a love potion. Once she was pregnant she thought she could take it off, but he found out she was a witch, even if she was a near squib, and he left her. It's interesting, you know, Merope Gaunt was good at potions, but nothing much else, could hardly ever cast a spell, and Voldemort became one of the most powerful spell casting wizards. I bet you anything, it's the fresh blood that his Muggle father brought into the mix. Without it he would have probably turned out like his mother or his uncle. His uncle was completely insane."

"Okay, so those three Horcruxes we can reach without a problem. What about the remaining two?" Sirius asks.

"They're a diary, used by Riddle at the time he went to Hogwarts, and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. The diadem is quite easy to get, too, it's at Hogwarts, in the Room of Requirement."

"Room of what?" Lily asks.

Harry grins.

"The Room of Requirement, mum. It's a room on the seventh floor, opposite the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy. You won't see it until you pass that point three times, imagining what kind of a room you will need and then the door pops up in the wall. If you go in it becomes exactly what you need."

"Why the heck did we never find this place, Padfoot?" James asks.

"No idea, Prongs, but it would have been exactly the place we could have made good use of."

"I asked one of the house-elves and they told me," Harry explains. "If we asked Professor McGonagall to tell us when Dumbledore has left Hogwarts for more than a day or so we could go and get the diadem."

"She's not at Hogwarts right now, Harry," said James.

"Oh yes, I forgot. But it mustn't be now anyway, it can even be just before the term starts…"

"Let's get started with the three we can get without a fuss," Sirius interjected. He was already getting itchy to get something done.

"Yes, let's do that. Gringotts first, or Grimmauld Place?"

"I think Grimmauld. Should be the easiest one."

"So we'll take a short trip to Grimmauld Place tomorrow…"

With that, Harry gets up, gives us all a good night hug and goes to bed. James and Lily follow soon and Sirius and I lock up and find our own bed at the same time. It's still so new to have my lover back! He's losing the haunted look on his face that shocked me to the bone when I saw him the first time out of Azkaban. Eight lost years! Eight years he's been in there, tortured in the worst ways possible, not with physical, but mental pain! Even thinking of this I'm so glad he was able to transform into Padfoot in there.

We cuddle a lot at the moment, the two of us. There is much clinging at night, for both of us. We love to be together again, I can't possibly describe how much I'm feeling for him, and what he gives me back. We have both quickly absolved the other from blame, the more difficult is to forgive ourselves, but with time, we'll even manage that.


	4. Horcrux Destruction for Dummies

First of all – thanks for the reviews, the many alerts and favourites; I'm quite floored at how many this story produced.

**Chapter 4 – Horcrux Destruction for Dummies**

**Potter Manor, 15.08.1989**

(Remus)

Every night we fill with love. We've gone straight back to setting silencing charms over our bedroom, something I'm sure James and Lily have done, too! When we sit down to breakfast in the morning, Harry smirks knowingly.

"I suppose I should be glad that you guys are so silent during the night! I really hated Ron's constant snoring at Hogwarts…"

Lily blushes a little. But James, cocky as he is, just grins and informs Harry:

"Just so you know that your mum and I are working on your future sister or brother…"

It's now Harry's turn to blush. But he looks very pleased.

"Never even thought that you might want more children, dad. I'm really looking forward to them!"

"You should have gone to Hogwarts with a bunch of them. Now you'll only get to see them during the holidays, for which I'm awfully sorry, Harry," James says, saddened.

"I know. Will be much harder to get to know them really…"

"How did you do at school at all?" Lily asks.

"Mediocre. For many reasons, none of them good, but in my situation I wouldn't have been able to see them at all," Harry admits.

"You could try to change that. I know that you can! It will be very easy for you, too, because you do already know the material."

"I will and I'm determined to prove to myself that I can, even if it's going to be a bit boring at times. I'll do the work. Ron won't hold me back this time, I won't be desperate for the one friend I have, I plan to get friendly with many more people than I did in my first life, I'm sure that if I work on it from the start and make it clear that I'm just an ordinary-boy-who-was-lucky-because-his-mother-protected-him the other children will allow me into their circles. If not the Slytherins then the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws for sure. And Hermione will hopefully be my best friend this time, right from the start."

"We'll seek her out as soon as we got the Horcruxes done," Lily promises.

"You seem to be sure to be Sorted to Gryffindor, Harry," Sirius says with a smirk.

"I don't know how your Sorting worked, but I clearly told the Hat where I didn't want to go and this time I'll add where I want to go. I will not deny my Gryffindor traits, that's for sure. Besides, if you ask me then the true Slytherins hide out in the other houses and use their cunning to keep their Slytherin interiors well hidden. Like pranksters, for example," Harry retorts and to be honest, I think he does have the even more evil smirk than Sirius.

But there's laughter along the table. We're fast becoming even closer family than we ever were before. There's a really wonderful absence of distrust and a welcome presence of trust and love. If Dumbledore is right in one point then in the one that love is powerful magic. But the sad thing is that he himself mostly acts it, he's not truly loving. He may have sympathies, but there's no real warmth, not what I felt (and feel) from my friends and chosen family. They can sense when I'm unwell, Dumbledore has to do a surface scan of one's mind to show off his impressive ability of compassion. There were too many people who were unable to see it, myself included, I'm the first to admit, even if I was one of his many victims. Talk about hindsight.

We get ready for the trip to Grimmauld Place. We go there by Portkey, courtesy of James, who has Ministry clearance for Portkeys. Sirius looks at the house, not very happy to have to come back, but he knows he needs to do so anyway as he's now the proprietor of the house. He taps his wand on the doorknob and the door screeches, but it opens without protest. As we enter, the gaslights spring to action and give us just enough light to see the entrance hall. It must have once been a magnificent entry, but now it's just black and dark green, no natural light at all, because all windows are covered with thickest curtains. We look around and see several doors. Sirius explains:

"This there is the door down to the kitchen, this one here opens to the downstairs salon and the dining room, then over there to my father's study. On the next floor is the great drawing room and the library. And then follow all bedrooms… now Harry, where…"

Sirius is interrupted by some horrible screaming coming from a life-sized portrait of a witch in the entrance hall. She screams about what horrible scum has entered and befouled her house. Harry calmly asks for a wand and points it at the panelling. He vanishes the panelling and all the portraits on that wall – as well as a good number of house-elf heads that were mounted on the same wall up the stairs – clatter down to the floor. Then shuts her up for a moment. Sirius grins.

"That, my dears, was my wonderful mother. Not a portrait that's worth keeping around, what do you think?"

"No, just go ahead and burn her. It's not like it's going to hurt her," Harry said. "For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry for the kind of mother you got, Sirius. It's a miracle you're so normal!"

"That's certainly true. Well, that's done then, we'll come back to clean up this place and renovate it, then it will actually be a beautiful house. It was once an early Georgian beauty after all. And how many detached houses will you find in this area of London? Just need to get rid of all the black and green and bring in some light again. Now where would we find that locket?"

"You need to call Kreacher, Sirius. And don't treat him badly, please."

"I'll refrain from doing so. – Kreacher!"

An ages old house-elf pops in and stares at Sirius.

"Master Sirius?"

"I'm your last remaining master now, Kreacher. You will have to contend with me from now on. – We came here to look for a locket you got from Master Regulus, Kreacher, do you remember it?"

"The one he gave me before he died? He told Kreacher to destroy it, but I couldn't do it, Master Sirius! I tried so hard, so many times."

"We know, Kreacher, and it's not your fault. Try as you might do you probably wouldn't have been able to do it, because it's such a horribly difficult thing to achieve. But we want to finish the job, as we have learned to actually destroy it. It would be to fulfil your favourite Master's last wish, Kreacher," Sirius says.

Kreacher actually pops away and returns, carrying the golden locket, which is mounted on a golden chain. This is a very valuable piece and I wish we didn't have to destroy it.

"This is it, Master. Master Regulus said it was from Salazar Slytherin."

We all look at the locket. There's nothing special apart from the fact that it's quite a heavy piece of gold and there's the typical Slytherin S on the cover. All in all it's a lovely piece of jewellery.

"It's sad that we have to destroy such a valuable relict from one of the Hogwarts founders," Sirius said and handed the locket to Harry.

"It is. But we can see if we can have it repaired after the destruction of the dastardly thing."

"That is a great idea. Then we could leave it at Hogwarts. – Thank you very much, Kreacher. There is great evil inside of this thing. This item is the reason why my brother had to die! Fulfilling his last wish is the least we can do. Regulus wanted to leave the Death Eaters, I'm sure of that, or he wouldn't have taken death out of his own free will just to rescue this item. It is one of the things that help Voldemort to exist, even if he is nothing but a spirit right now," Sirius explained to Kreacher.

"Are you going to come live here again, Master Sirius?" Kreacher asked.

"I'll be coming over to clean this up and renovate the house, Kreacher. It's much too dark for me to live in before I have done that. You shouldn't have to live in that cupboard of yours, for example, you should have a nice clean room and clean clothes for yourself."

"Master wants to give clothes to Kreacher?"

"No, I won't be giving you clothes, unless you want them, Kreacher. I'll have you get some material to make something new for yourself. Now I don't need your presence anymore, you can return to what you were doing before. Could you see to it that there's a little less dust and grime when I come in the next time?"

"As you wish, Master."

"And thank you again, Kreacher."

As the old house-elf pops away, Harry compliments Sirius:

"Well done, Sirius. He seems much less insane than I've learned to know him. I suppose it's only been a few years since your mother died?"

"Four years? Something like it. I think he needs a new outlook in life. But let's not linger for the moment, we've got what we came for, I think we can move on to Gringotts now."

"Let me apparate Dad to the Gaunts' place first, so that he can later make another Portkey for us. Can we apparate back in here?"

"Sure."

Harry and James vanish, only to return a few minutes later. We relocate by floo to Gringotts and Sirius asks to see Toothgrinder. As we meet the man in his office he asks us to wait as he was calling for Ragnok.

It only takes a few moments for the director to enter the room in a rush. He asks us to keep our seats and immediately comes to the point:

"I have heard some disturbing information from Toothgrinder. A Horcrux in a Gringotts vault? That's absolutely out of the question!"

"We have strong reasons to believe that there is indeed a Horcrux – namely one made by Tom Marvolo Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort – in the vault of the Lestrange family. Since I am their closest relative I would like to have a look and check. You will understand that if it is true that this Horcrux is in the vault we have to destroy it. We can do it right inside the vault if you like, but it needs to be taken apart – preferably by any goblin-made item such as a sword," Sirius explains.

"That means you would not need to take the item away? It would not have to be removed from the vault?"

"If it has to be removed then only temporary. We have to stab it to retrieve the soul fragment inside. Then the item can be repaired and replaced in the vault. Though it is actually a Hogwarts Founder's possession, which has been stolen by Tom Riddle from Hephzibah Smith, about 30 odd years ago," I add.

Ragnok looks troubled.

"Do you understand our difficulty? Gringotts guarantees, under all circumstances, to watch over the treasures in a vault with full responsibility on our part. We also guarantee that all treasures remain unblemished! Now there are a number of reasons why we can go ahead with the procedures you need to do, firstly it is the vault of two criminals who are sentenced to Azkaban for life, secondly they do not have any heirs who are still free, thirdly you are the closest relative AND head of house and fourthly the item has been stolen AND contaminated by Dark Magic that we, as a bank, do not approve of… seen from all of these points of view I agree on a removal of the object. Toothgrinder, see to it that it vanishes from the inventory of the vault completely. I think this item does belong to Hogwarts if it is truly a heirloom from one of their Founders. However, I want to be present and see this thing to judge with my own eyes whether it is what you claim it to be."

"That is acceptable. We have never before destroyed a Horcrux, we don't know how the soul fragment in it will react, so it might be good if all but the person who actually stabs the Horcrux will cast strongest shield charms against the spirit," I warn.

"Very well. Let us proceed to the vault then. Toothgrinder, if you please…"

We are all led down to the Lestrange vault. As it's opened up we are allowed to step inside. Harry takes my wand, which seems to be quite a good match with his magic, and tries to call the cup:

"Accio Hufflepuff's Cup!" he calls.

I don't think he expected it to come, but it comes soaring out of the depth of the vault. The cup in the size of a drinking glass is made from pure gold. It's a piece of beautiful goldsmith work, with a badger etched into the outside. Harry passes it to Ragnok.

"This doesn't look unusual at all. I don't feel any magic on it…" Ragnok says.

"Probably not, until you put in some fluid and try to drink from it. Others of his Horcruxes didn't react at all when I tried to summon them. He probably didn't put heaver protection on this one because he hid it in here shortly after he made it. We'll take it out of the vault and stab it with a goblin-made sword, if you could provide one for that use, and then you'll see!" Harry explains.

"Alright. I'm still doubtful, but the item did react on the call for Hufflepuff's Cup, therefore I believe it must be this item. We'll see what happens! Could we return to our conference room?"

Toothgrinder helps us back into the cart and back up to the surface of the bank. We proceed back to the room where we've been before and after a few minutes of waiting a Goblin-made sword is procured.

"Shall I do the honours?" James asks, taking the sword in his hand.

"Go ahead, Lord Potter," Ragnok declares.

"Okay. Set up the shield charms! Harry, you can have my wand here…"

While we all set up the strongest shields we can muster, James draws a deep breath and plunges the tip of the sword into the Horcrux. As soon as the sword blemishes the gold of the cup we can hear the worst scream all of us have ever heard! It screams and screams and keeps screaming until James is breaking down. He's going to his knees, but as soon as the screaming finally stops he breathes again and manages to stand up again. Ragnok looks at Harry and admits:

"That was quite the proof you delivered there, young man!"

Harry grins.

"May we ask you to be very discrete about this, sir? Voldemort has made five Horcruxes, this is only the first one we destroy. We still have to repeat this procedure with four more of them, before he will be a very normal mortal wizard again. At this time he's a spirit somewhere in Albania, where he survives by possessing all sorts of small animals. This spirit is absolutely powerless to do any magic itself. Our work will be much easier if we could do it under the radar of the magical community, especially under Dumbledore's radar. If we can get rid of the Horcruxes and keep Riddle completely unawares of that fact we will have the best chances of eliminating him the moment he finds a way back, which he'll probably try through possession of a human, willing or unwilling," he explains.

Ragnok looks at Harry:

"You seem to be rather knowledgeable about such things, young man. Should you know all of this?"

"Do we get your vow of discretion about this?" Harry asks back. "Then I will be ready to tell you why I know so much about these things."

Ragnok looks intrigued but delivers the vow as a Goblin sworn vow! Harry nods, contented and asks for a Pensieve to place all the necessary information in it. Once Ragnok has viewed that he simply nods and confirms:

"This will not be going out anywhere. I can well understand what you intend to do now, Mr. Potter, and I can promise you the support of the Goblin nation. Let us start by giving you this sword to use for all the remaining Horcruxes. We will not miss it for a while and it will serve you well. You can return it to us when you have gone through the last Horcrux."

"Thank you, sir," Harry says earnestly and takes the sword from his father's hands.

James meanwhile looks at the destroyed golden trinket and says:

"I'll try to repair this. – Reparo!"

We are all immensely pleased that the trinket is repaired easily. The two halves are melded together seamlessly. James picks it up and rolls it in his hands.

"We should inquire if there are any heirs to Hepzibah Smith and return this cup to them. After all it had been stolen from her," he said.

"We can do that," Ragnok promised. "We'll think of an excuse why it's coming back now. It should have quite a high value to them."

James handed the cup to the Goblin and nodded.

"Here, take it, sir, and return it to the Smiths. We will now move on to the next item…"

With that we end the meeting, content that one of the dastardly things is down – only four more to go.

The next one is the locket, which we destroy at home and then repair it. After that, we all go to the Gaunt place, by Portkey, and in full daylight, so that we wouldn't have to use any artificial light.

The place is a hovel! It's so rundown that we are highly afraid to get close to it. Harry starts talking something in a hissy sound, which does not feel nice in our ears. I have never heard snakes, so I don't know if they actually do make this sound, but it seems to have the necessary success, because not only does the door open, the walls silently collapse to the outside. We all jump out of harms way and then Harry starts searching the ground. He finally shouts:

"Here it is! Can you come with the sword, dad?"

"Coming, Harry!"

James stabs the latest Horcrux without picking it up. Thanks to Harry's Parsel-speak the protections on the Horcrux are gone and there's the tell-tale screaming, but the ring only shows a broken Onyx, otherwise it's fine. Harry picks it up and says:

"You need to get the Invisibility Cloak back, dad, because together with this ring and the Elder Wand it forms the Deathly Hallows."

"What? I always thought that they're just a myth!" James exclaims.

"They're not, believe me. These three items have caused much grief over the centuries, especially the Elder Wand, which Dumbledore has. It's the main source of his power. If it is retrieved from him by force then it can break his power quickly. But I suggest not to do that. Because if Dumbledore dies with this wand in his possession then the spell on it is broken and it's not invincible any longer. At the moment we're the only ones who know that he has it at all."

"Good. We keep it at that, but I'll get the Cloak back. Minerva will tell us when he's out of the Castle and that's when we will go and get that diadem and at the same time, the Cloak. I'd ask it back in person, but I'm quite sure he'd deny the returning…" James says.

"If you retrieve it with or without his knowledge he'll know it was you anyway, James," Lily throws in.

"Then again, that's true. So I'll go there openly and ask for it. Rightfully he can't deny my request."

As we settle back in that evening we all think that we have accomplished a lot! Three Horcruxes out of five down in one day! That's worth a good feast!

The next day James takes a detour to Hogwarts during his lunch break. I go with him, to find the diadem in the Room of Requirement, which Harry has described to me in detail, and he's shown me exactly how the diadem looks, too. We decide to meet again at the Shrieking Shack, the one who's first waits until the other returns as well. While James leaves for the headmaster's office to reclaim his Invisibility Cloak, I run to the seventh floor, where I follow Harry's procedure and actually find the room! I need to have a good long look, but after half an hour I find the item, lying on top of a pile of stuff. I gently take it and put it in a small bag I've brought with me. Sneaking out of the castle is no problem; I know too many shortcuts and secret passages. I quickly get out and find my way through the grounds to the Shrieking Shack, where James sits in the grass, leaning against the backside of the shack. I grin and show him the bag. James grins, too, and we both walk down to the Gates and vanish back home. James gives the diadem the same treatment as he gave all the other Horcruxes and the fourth Horcrux goes down the drain!

"That leaves the Horcrux kept at the Malfoys. – I wonder if I could call Dobby, the house-elf," Harry muses.

"Master Harry Potter has called Dobby?" a little creature cries as he pops in.

"Dobby? How could you hear me?" Harry asks, incredulous.

"Has Master Harry Potter forgotten that he hired Dobby's elfling? Dobby can hear you because you have rescued his elfling."

"Oh, Dobby! You are wonderful! Would you like to help the magical world to recover fully from the Dark Lord? He's not dead completely, but he will be if you can get us an item from the Malfoys. We have to destroy what's inside of it, but the item will go back unblemished, so it cannot do any harm anymore. Would you be able to do that, now that the Malfoys are at Azkaban?"

"Dobby has to wait for an opportunity to retrieve this object unseen. What is it?"

We all cheer!

"Dobby, look here, I show you what we are looking for. Can you read?"

"Yes, Dobby can read."

"Excellent. Here, this is what the small book looks like!"

Harry shows Dobby with the help of a Pensieve what he wants. Dobby's eyes get rounder than they already are and he says:

"Dobby knows where this item is, Master Harry Potter, Dobby can bring it to you right now. No one is at the manor except for the house-elves until the new Mistress has decided what's to be done with it."

"That's great. Who is the new Mistress, then?" Harry asks.

"Mistress is Mistress Andromeda Tonks, Master Harry, Dobby's old Mistress' sister."

"That's perfect. You can tell her, when she comes, that you took the item to us. If she has questions she can come to us at any time," Sirius throws in. "She's my favourite cousin, you know."

"Dobby shall be back soon then."

A short while later the little elf is back with the diary. It's so non-descript that it didn't attract any attention at all amongst the many other books in the library. James stabs the Horcrux and together with the screaming about a litre of ink oozes out of the little book, but once it is all over, we can restore it as we have restored the other items. Harry grins and declares:

"Well, that's much easier than what I had to do before. Dobby, do you know what's going to happen to you and the other house-elves?"

"We is probably going to be sold on, Master Harry. Mistress can't use all of us."

"We'll talk to Andi then. I'm sure you'd love to come join us to be with Harry," Sirius says and winks.

"Thank you, Master Black. Dobby would love that very much!"

"Your old family has been sent to Azkaban for the rest of their lives and won't be able to hurt you any longer, Dobby. We would like to have you with us!"

"You is the greatest wizard on earth, Master Harry Potter! My elfling has communicated how nice it is here."

Dobby throws himself at Harry, hugging him hard, and then vanishes with the repaired diary.

Wow! Horcrux, anyone? It's over and done. Voldemort is mortal again! It probably won't even take a killing curse anymore to put him down. I think I'd like to feed him some rat poison and watch how he slowly goes out. When I voice that idea my friends agree, all of them. Harry likes it best.

"He's been brought back by a rat in my former life, I think it would be borderline poetic justice if he went out like a rat this time. I'll make sure to have some on me at all times!"

But before that we think about confronting Dumbledore with the fact that we have found out about the Horcruxes and that they are all destroyed. The pro's and con's are discussed long and hard.

"He'll only try to retrieve the knowledge about them from all of us, Remus. He'll use Legilimency on all of you guys. Your Occlumency must be at its peak to withstand his attacks, if we take that route," Harry reasons, firmly in the camp of those who think we should keep it nice and quiet.

"I believe he's right, I don't think we should tell him. It would only stir up unnecessary curiosity, Remus. I think we should wait, because it looks like he'll be taken down a good notch or two soon anyway," is Lily's reasoning.

"Okay, so I have fallen back into old patterns of trusting the old codger – I beg your pardon!" I concede.

They only laugh! Sirius pulls me close and kisses me.

"Sweet old Remus. I love you, you know? Never change!"

"But what can we do to get at Voldemort?"

"Wait. He'll possess Quirrell, remember? And when Quirrell comes to teach at Hogwarts in two years, that's when we grab him..." Harry says.

"Not sure if that will work out, Harry," James throws in. "We've already changed too much – Dumbledore may already be gone completely by then."

"Oh yes, haven't factored that in," Harry admits.

"Well, the way I see it he'll at worst be forced to stay in Albania forever," Lily shrugs. "And since he's mortal again he might die in between two animals he's inhabited and trying to inhabit."

"What we don't know is whether he felt something when we destroyed those Horcruxes," Harry remarks.

"That's a risk we take. Another question is whether he would be able to make any new Horcruxes with what's left of his soul in that spirit form he currently favours," James adds.

"Both risks we can take. We know he's powerless right now and we'll keep our minds sharp for a possible return. We here all know he's not completely put out, just well on the way there," Lily says.

We all nod. If he does come back we'll be ready for him. After all, he doesn't know that his Horcruxes are gone and he has no means to check them. We are almost certain that in the form he is right now he is unable to make more Horcruxes. And in the meantime, politically we'll have to get as many changes anchored as we can.

**Teignmouth, Devon, Old Oak House, 08.09.1989**

(Hermione)

Why me? I know, I never swear, but now I darn well do! Why the bloody hell am I so horrible and why do all these things happen to me?

As I climb the stairs to go to my room and change my clothes I wonder what just happened. I know that I've wondered about that before, when I found myself getting out of sticky situations at school before. It has happened again this afternoon! I'm so sick of not knowing what makes me so different!

Okay, different from my classmates apart from my top-notch marks, being the top student in class ever since I've started school, being top-notch in my piano lessons and even top-notch in my fencing classes. There are others at school who learn to play the piano, but none of them does any fencing, only I. They're of course making fun of me for all of those reasons, and yes, add the buck teeth and the frizzy hair that just about does what it wants.

The slight buckteeth I have from mum's side of the family, but the hair? They're all brown haired and brown eyed, and on both sides of the family, but only I got this horrible tangle on my head that's near impossible to tame and has a life of its own, I swear!

Well, here's what happened *this* time: I came back from my lunch break, which I've spent alone at the library as usual, and Croxley tackled me just as I was about to turn to the classroom. I got really angry, because once again I had to collect all my stuff together and as I cried out that I wished the whole bunch would just go in my bag on its own it happened! Everyone watched as all my school stuff returned to my bag on its own! I was so embarrassed I just grabbed the bag, stomped into the classroom and sat on my own (as usual, too) in the back of the classroom. Everyone else just stared at me.

Of course I didn't hang around after class, I stormed out as soon as the bell rang and the teacher let us go. Now here I am, and I can't even rant to mum and dad, because they will be out at their practice in the centre of Teignmouth for another two hours at least.

"Hey Hermione," a friendly voice greets me, Imogen, my sister.

At last! Someone sympathetic – entirely sympathetic even, because my younger siblings know exactly how I feel. They feel the same way, because what happens to me, also sometimes happens to them! Imogen and her twin brother Adrian are just a year younger than me. We're a close knit bunch, because we're so close in age, too. They have it a little easier at school, but not because their classmates like them better than mine like me, mostly because they have each other to hang on to.

"The way you look you've just had another 'incident'," Adrian remarks, smirking.

He's the one among us who takes these 'incidents' the easiest.

"If only I knew what's going on with us!" I sigh and drop my bag on my desk.

The twins follow me as I plop down on the chair at my desk. They drop down on the bed and Adrian remarks:

"Take it easy, Hermione, there must be an explanation and one day soon we find out what it is, I'm confident."

"We've gone through so many books! I've even gone to the library in town, Adrian!"

"I know! It's as if we were magical, don't you think? What was it today?"

"Croxley attacked me. He tripped me and the contents in my bag went flying scattered all over the corridor. And then it all came flying back to the bag!"

"Did you do anything? Or think anything?" Imogen asks.

"Or say anything?" Adrian adds.

"No! – Oh, wait, I think I said something like I wished the stuff would just return to the bag?"

"Must be magic. What else would push natural laws out of the way?" Adrian remarked.

Just as he says that there's the bell ringing down at the door. I get up and go down quickly.

"I'll get it, Mrs Williamson," I call in the direction of the kitchen, where the house-keeper is busy.

When I open the door I find three people on the doorstep that I've never seen before: a man, a woman and a boy who looks about the age of my younger siblings.

"Good afternoon? What can I do for you? Are you looking for my parents' practice, perhaps?"

Sometimes people come here when they actually look for the dental practice.

"Hello, Hermione. No, we're not looking for your parents' practice, we are looking for you," says the woman.

"Oh! May I know who you are? And how do you know my name?"

"My name is Lily Potter Evans, this is my son, Harry, and this gentleman is Mr. Remus Lupin. We would like to talk to you about some strange things that must surely have happened to you as you were growing up."

My eyes widen. These people not only know my name, but also about... on the other hand they might have heard from children at school!

"From your reaction I gauge you must have had some cases. May we speak to you about them? We can explain them, you know," Mrs Potter repeats.

"Yes, I think you can. Please come inside!"

"Thank you."

I stand aside and let them pass. Mrs Williamson comes from the kitchen and I tell her:

"Mrs Williamson, these are Mrs Potter, Mr Lupin and Harry, he's Mrs Potter's son. They wanted to speak to me."

"Would you show them to the living room then, Hermione?"

"Yes. – This way, please!"

I ask them to sit down and then say:

"I'm just going to fetch my siblings. They're having the same problems!"

A moment later, Adrian, Imogen and I take a seat in the living room and I ask for the explanation.

"Something just happened again, today! I have a bully in my class, who tripped me when I wanted to enter the room and all of my bag's content went flying out of it when I fell. And then it kind of flew back into the bag just like that!"

All three visitors grin.

"Proper summoning," Harry says and beams.

"Summoning?"

"Yes, that's what we call it when we collect things to us. Hermione, you aren't alone! There are people up and down the country who are like you. If they're girls like you they're called witches and if they're boys like me they're called wizards. In about a year you'll be visited by a witch who's a professor, Professor McGonagall, she will inform you all about the wizarding world, but I wanted to do that a little earlier than she would do it. You're going to receive an invitation to a magical school when you turn eleven," Harry explains.

A WITCH? Me? And possibly Imogen, too? And Adrian a wizard? Just wait until my parents hear that! I exchange glances with my siblings.

"Wow, so I was right then! It just seemed like such a wild guess," Adrian whispers.

"Yes, you were, Adrian."

I turn to the visitors:

"How did you know? How did you know me?"

My visitors exchange glances. It could well be that they are deliberating what to tell us. That is something I can't stand! So I growl:

"You better tell me everything, you know! If it's something that's vital for us then we need to know!"

Harry grins. As I turn my head I see his mother and Mr. Lupin, who both grin, too.

"You bedded yourself, Harry, I suppose now you have to come clean," Mrs Potter says.

"I do want to tell you everything, Hermione, but you will probably think that I'm crazy… the thing is – I know you because I already met and befriended you. In a former life…" he says in a low voice.

My jaw drops. A former life?

"Tell me everything, Harry. What do you mean by a former life?"

"I went through a horrible life – it was so horrible that by the time I was 35 years old I decided that the only way to get out of that horror would be to end it myself. As I did so, I was given an option to return and start all over, at a point in my life of my choice. That's the long story short. I ended my life, but unknowingly I did it in a way that I arrived in the afterlife not being really dead. I was in a kind of in-between – there was only one way out of it, and that was going back. I would have been left in that limbo forever, not alive, not dead. Then I learned that I could start over – with all my knowledge and memories intact. I decided that going back was really the only option for me."

Harry then puts down a bowl, which has engravings on its inside and explains:

"This here is a Pensieve. It is a recipient for memories, Hermione, you can see what my memories show you of my earlier life."

What Adrian, Imogen and I see in the next two hours is simply astounding! We learn of Harry's life as it was until now. I can see my own role in his life and realise that I must have been more than just his friend. As he shows us his memories I recognise where things went wrong for him. Just as we see the last memories my parents return from their working day.

Adrian, Imogen and I look up and I tell Harry:

"You know, Harry, I can see exactly why you had to go through all of that! There was no way you could have done much differently, because they kept you from knowing! That's why I told you to tell me everything, because if you didn't, I'd start to assume, as you did so often yourself. You know from your own experience how often you go wrong when you have to live on assumptions. You had no real help from any adults and your trust in them was completely broken. I'll be very happy to go your way with you from now on, Harry!"

Mum and dad come in just as I say this and naturally they ask immediately what's going on. We jump up and greet our parents.

"Mum! Dad! We finally know why all these strange things happen to us!" Adrian shouts as the three of us run over to greet them.

Mum and dad look up and I jump in to introduce them to our visitors. Harry sighs. He knows he'll have to repeat everything he just told us, because our parents will certainly have to know what we now know as well. It's a long evening. Luckily it's Friday, but maybe Harry and his mum have chosen this day on purpose.

His mum's told us to call her Lily. What a lovely name! And then Mr. Lupin tells us that we can call him Remus or Moony. What a funny nickname. Through the evening, after dinner, we learn a lot about this world that will be mine and my siblings' world as we grow up. The ups and downs of their society are mentioned as neither the Potters nor Remus hold back with their critical views of their own community. My parents probably have a hard time right now to decide whether this is really the right thing for us.

While his attention is on my parents for a moment I take a moment to look at Harry. He's a cute boy! He'll certainly make for a very handsome adult! Well, now that I've seen his memories I know he's going to be a good-looking man. Having seen those memories I can see how he was used, how adults have made use of his innocence and even some of his friends have used him – for both, his riches and his fame. I wonder how I will react to meeting this Ginny Weasley! It was really horrible to see what Harry couldn't see when she caught him unawares, caught him by his unwavering honour, his promises and his love. She never once really loved him. I'll admit that she probably believed she loved him in the beginning. To see how she used him for his money and never left him in peace, on the contrary, she's constantly hounded him for something; I think this must have been exactly what he said it was – sheer hell on earth. She was definitely personified perfidy. I certainly can't blame him for ending it.

On a more positive side he's definitely made use of his knowledge. Going to Remus gave him the chance to actually change not only his own destiny, but many others, and so far he's been very successful.

I'm especially afraid of this Dumbledore character. He seems to be so sly that he's recognised as a beacon of light, when he seems to be a true monster in reality. Worse than him only seems to be Harry's father's former friend Pettigrew. The way I see it, he was solely responsible for bringing back Voldemort and thus for the death of all who died afterwards.

"Next week Madam Bones is going to take on Cornelius Fudge at the Committee. And then she'll turn on Dumbledore. It will be interesting to see how these two hearings will turn out. Fudge will be out of office by the first afternoon of questioning, I bet," Harry tells me.

"Does that mean that you expect your government to change then?" I ask.

"Oh, for sure. And Dumbledore must begin to feel the heat under his meagre old behind, too. He's manipulated long enough. If he has really done it for what he believes to be the Greater Good, he'll probably know by now that he's used the wrong methods. His only goal is to clear Voldemort off the face of the earth, but that's not enough! After Voldemort's first downfall the wizarding world just went back to how it was before and Dumbledore was happy that not more people vanished behind the thick walls of Azkaban. He never considered that what they now did on the political level was devastating the magical world more than having them convicted would have done. He believes everyone deserves a second chance. Okay, a second chance is one thing, but not a third, fourth, tenth or fifteenth chance, for Merlin's sake! I understand the Statute of Secrecy and our interest to keep it in place and well regarded. What I can't possibly understand is the wish to exclude Muggle-borns! Their fresh blood is so important. Not to say that most true pure-blooded families like the Blacks, Pritchards, Averys, Notts and so on are so inbred they can hardly think clearly anymore. I know of one family, the Notts, they needed seven children in my generation to have two who turned out to be magical. All others were squibs. Don't ask me what they did with them. At the same time the Weasleys, the Bones, Prewetts, Jones and Potters and many other families, who have intermarried with at least half bloods, have remained strong and thoroughly magical. Only an idiot would not notice that inbreeding is unhealthy. The magical purebloods think it's the only way to remain pure-blooded and magically powerful…"

"Quod erat demonstrandum then, eh?"

"Exactly."

I think that it will be difficult with such attitudes, but I am ready to face that music. I already trust these magical adults here tonight to work in that direction. This Committee seems to be a good thing, effective to suss out all those remaining bigots and criminals.

"One thing astounds me, Hermione – I've never known that you had siblings! Magical ones at that! You never talked about them at all, I never saw any other children accompanying your parents at King's Cross Station, not one word about them. Something must have happened in those two years between now and the time you go to Hogwarts. Some illness? Or an accident? We might have to watch out for the twins! What's more, I knew you were living in Oxford in my first life, so I suppose something significant must have happened for your parents to move away from there. Took mum quite a bit of sweet-talking to Professor McGonagall to tell her your address…"

That's why he hasn't mentioned them at all! He never knew about them at all!

"What could we do about it?"

"To exclude a possible illness I think we should have them examined magically by a healer. And if it's not an illness we'll know to watch out for them for possible accidents."

I nod. My parents have listened up as we started to discuss Adrian and Imogen. They look worried, but now we know that something might happen to them and Harry's return already changed so much I would expect things to happen differently now. I hope so, at least! I love my siblings! I don't want to lose them!!

**Potter Manor, 15.9.1989**

(Remus)

The Malfoys are safely stashed away, but the Ministry in its wisdom has granted Sirius' great aunt Shaula custody of Draco, effectively taking him out of Andromeda's hands. Amelia has tried to intervene, but to no avail. Sirius may be the head of the family, but he and Andromeda are still considered the white sheep amongst the Blacks, so they stood together to capture the kid. Asked, the kid did not want to go to Sirius nor Andromeda, so the Ministry didn't send it there.

But they did leave the responsibility to clean up the Malfoy place to Andromeda, together with a bunch of Aurors and curse breakers. And we got hold of the Malfoy house-elves. They're all with us now, not that they'll be overly daunted by work, but they will be able to lead a happier working life now. Dobby is naturally delighted when he embraces his hero, Harry. It's very nice to see that Harry is actually equally delighted to have the little elf, who now becomes his personal elf. I think Dobby has already bound himself to Harry when Harry bought his elfling.

Dobby's elfling, James, as he's now called, has caused us some funny mischief with the choice of his new name. Whenever someone calls James now, and means Harry's dad, then the little elfling comes in, too. That isn't so funny for James and Lily, especially when the name is said at a time when they enjoy some nice bed-time activities and is extremely embarrassing for the little elf! The very next morning James calls his little namesake in and suggests:

"James, would you mind if we added something to your name to have a clear distinction between the two of us? We don't want to take away your new name, so we thought we'd add something else to it, what would you think?"

Still embarrassed, the little elf only nods, but it's an eager nod. We all grin.

"James D, perhaps, with the D standing for Dobby's elfling?" Lily suggests.

"Oh, I is liking it! Yes, I is will listen to James D from now on."

"Great! Then we won't mix the two of you up anymore."

Everyone is happy with this solution and even Dobby smiles. We are pleased to see that the Malfoy elves are coming out of their shells under the care of ours, and that they are getting healthier by the day. They still have a hard time with the order never to punish themselves, as this cruel training has been so harsh with them they keep forgetting our new order. In fact they are so nice we never see any need at all to punish them.

The house-elves are working on Grimmauld Place, to restore the old townhouse to its former Georgian glory. The house was originally built in an estate in a smallish cul-de-sac in central London. The estate has come down a little, but some of the houses are on sale now, and we buy them all as soon as they're on the market. The first owner of one of these houses told us about the sale of the next and we take the house off of his hands at once. The house-elves will have a lot of work on them to keep them happy!

All these houses have been constructed as big, spacious detached townhouses spread over four floors, with a basement and an attic. Originally they were owned by magical people, but at the end of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century they were sold to Muggles. They have mostly turned theirs to flats, a process, which we'll turn around, as we intend to re-instate them as single family dwellings. We will offer them to some wizarding families once they're done up. James and Lily intend to take over one of them as their London home. Behind each of the houses is an expansive garden, which is only visible to magic users. Muggles would not see these at all and never did, strangely enough. There are quite high walls around the gardens. All in all we buy all sixteen buildings on the cul-de-sac, which we consequently vanish from the sight of all Muggles.


	5. The Magical World Goes Upside Down

**Chapter 5 – In Which The Magical World Goes Upside Down**

**Ministry of Magic, 18.09.1989**

(Remus)

The Grangers have become an important part of our growing group of friends quickly. It's nice to have some friends in the Muggle world as well.

Harry's worried though, and I think has good reason, because in his former life Hermione lived in another town and had no siblings at all. What happened in those two years? We take the twins to Poppy Pomfrey the very next day and she alleviates our worries regarding their health, they're both perfectly fine and no indication of any genetic defects are found. This leads to the suspicion that something dramatic must have happened in Harry's former life that he never knew about. It's Hermione's dad, George, who reasons:

"I can only imagine some sort of accident. It's rather unhealthy to worry about an accident happening to them because we'd only worry for the next two years. I am sure that Harry's intervention now will prevent what ever happened to them. Who knows, it might have happened at their school. We know that they're harassed often enough for being a bit different…"

It is decided that the three children are taken out of their regular school and that a tutor will be hired to teach them the standard subjects, natural sciences, English, maths and so on. I will take over teaching them history, magical history and magical theory. Harry will join the three as well, even though he's already learned most of the things we're going to teach them. But he wants to share the learning experience. It's no wonder, because his schooling was never happy in his first life. He has been forced by his relatives to underachieve in all of his subjects because they would not allow him to be better than their fat, dumb whale of a son. So he claims to take his studies seriously, even if it is basic stuff to begin with. Luckily, he gets to study with three extremely intelligent children who are already on a high level for their ages. Not held back by other children they will probably all three fly off!

We ask the Longbottoms whether they want to allow Neville to take part in the little school and all three happily agree. So Neville arrives by floo every day for his primary schooling. It soon turns out that it does him a world of good, too. Apart from being a prodigy with plants he lacks basic education and doesn't have the first idea about many mundane subjects.

We have set up a tiny classroom in the huge main library, in a sunny spot with light from two high windows on two sides. Even Harry enjoys the classes; he's allowed to become a child again and allows himself to be a child again. With the growing integration into the magical world of Hermione, Adrian and Imogen the discussions among the children and us become intellectually stimulating enough to satisfy his adult brain, too.

Neville learns a bit slower at the beginning. He has to learn all the basic things first, which he hasn't done so far at all. He has no idea about mathematics, he knows his magical plants, but has never learned basic biology. He did get some instructions in English, but naturally only very little. Neville is a challenge for me. As the other three already have three or four years of formal schooling, he can't follow everything they do. Therefore, I take over to teach him alone when they have Muggle subjects and I teach them all together when it's magical subjects. The teacher we were able to procure for the children is a squib who's gone through long periods of studying at Cardiff University, where he went through all sorts of subjects. He's independently wealthy and doesn't have to work, so he does it for the fun of it. His name is Walter Prewett and he's distantly related to Molly Weasley.

In the meantime, there are more trials taking place. Amelia has Fudge and his team in her eyes. She's already secured Fudge himself, but we read in the Daily Prophet that she's also arrested Dolores Umbridge and Fudge's personal assistant Darcy Durbridge.

I represent the 'family' to follow the procedures when all three go on trial together. First it's Durbridge, who is put under Veritaserum and thus tells the court everything about Fudge's regular procedures when procuring bribes, not only from Malfoy, that's already been a fact since Malfoy's hearing, but also from other people and Durbridge's own role in nailing these acts down. Next up is Umbridge, who talks about similar things and also shockingly informs the public about the Ministry's practices in tax questions, how taxes were subtly raised over a period of five years and how the three of them have embezzled parts of those taxes. The Gringotts Goblins, once called in, promise to return these funds to the Ministry's vaults. They're not losing anything by doing that, so they don't mind.

Another horror for me to follow is hearing her explaining her motifs for calling for all those legislations to hold down magical creatures even more than the Ministry had ever done before. Her personal dislike has led to at least three or four of those motions to be passed!

Finally it's Fudge himself. His main fear throughout the seven years he's been the Minister of Magic has been the loss of his office. He loves the power and the perks it has given him and he's not interested in governing at all, just in enjoying himself being the Minister. He's also helped to cover up a few of Dumbledore's manipulations, while Dumbledore has helped him to remain in power. He, on the other hand has supported most of Dumbledore's legislations in the Wizengamot.

The results of the trials are 30 years in Azkaban for Fudge, 25 for Umbridge and Durbridge each. The Dementors are there immediately to cash away the three who have done immense damage to the magical community, especially in economic views, as business at Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade has become increasingly difficult. These are long sentences and it's not very likely that any of them has the strength and magical power to survive them that long. I've heard that on average prisoners die after ten to fifteen years, mostly because they're drowned so deeply in their own despair that they stop eating and starve to death.

At the end of this trial, I breathe in hard, because the past few months have really turned our world around. The moderate politicians are probably going to grab their chances and help the more radical few to gain terrain on the conservatives. We need to reform this society urgently and thoroughly!

I think about all the people who have vanished either at Azkaban or have been, in some cases, Kissed by the Dementors. Malfoy, Avery, Nott and the other Death Eaters who have been found to belong to Voldemort's Inner Circle have all been Kissed and then sent through the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries. Amelia is aware that we have destroyed the Horcruxes, but she doesn't want to give Voldemort, once he does find a way to return, an incentive to go and get his gang out of Azkaban. It's a terrible fate, but I do believe we needed to go there, simply because these people would just happily go back torturing and killing for the fun of it and never lose a thought about anyone they treat this way. We don't need that anymore!

But we all wait for the big one – Dumbledore. I'm sure he knows he will have to stand before the Committee sooner or later, and I'm amazed he's still sitting in that great big spider web he's made himself at Hogwarts. During one of her visits at the Manor Amelia has told us she wants her questions to nail him down air tight, in such a way that he cannot ever get away. She wants to make sure that his guilt and his responsibility for about 60 years of magical history becomes known to everyone.

Until then I happily start to teach my young protégés in some subjects that interest them and challenge their little brains to dive into the deepest abysses of magical history. I also teach them everything I know about magical cultures, creatures and theories. Whatever I bring – all four of them just simply suck it up. It's such fun to teach them!

Within weeks we have a new Minister. The Wizengamot has elected Arthur Weasley. Arthur is floored and we are among the first who congratulate the man, who's as fair and honest as they come. Arthur is also a wizard everyone underestimates. He does have to leave his much loved old clothes behind and go shopping for a new wardrobe, but he does so with dignity and once dressed up looks impressive! Arthur looks around for a new crew and when Lily applies for the post of the Minister's personal assistant he accepts her easily. Some pureblood conservatives howl of course, because it's a Muggle-born in a very high position, but Arthur sends a statement to the press, in which he claims that whenever he will have to recruit he will go for qualification and under no circumstances will purebloods be preferred unless they have the necessary qualification. Further howling in the Wizengamot bring forth a statistic that the purebloods don't particularly like to see – Hogwarts OWLS and NEWTS results, which clearly state that purebloods are at best average in their academics.

That is like the proverbial drop of oil in the fire. Howlers from all sides arrive at the press organs. The conservatives scream that these results must be falsified and the more radicals scream that it was about time to publish these figures. Luckily there are far more crying out for the publication than against it. Another ministerial communiqué, supported by one from the WEA, the Wizarding Examination Authority, states that these figures have been kept under wraps for forty years to appease the purebloods. And the very next day the Quibbler exclusively reports the statistics as far back as 1966.

"Luna! – I knew there was something I should have thought of! Remus, do you think we could contact the Lovegoods? I know that Luna is going to lose her mum some time in the next ten to twenty months. She's always been very much alone because she's a bit strange to some people. In reality she's one of the sharpest people I've met and a super friend. I'd like to see if she couldn't join our classes. She'd enjoy them immensely!"

"I think your dad knows Xeno Lovegood – he could approach him, Harry."

"That'd be great! I'll talk to him tonight."

I have to smile. It looks like Harry is bringing together his original friends, minus the Weasleys and plus Hermione's siblings. Though I do expect him to become friends with the Weasley twins, Fred and George, who, according to Minerva, have already left an impression at Hogwarts, where they have started schooling in September.

Observing these children every day I have to say that they're great fun to have around. They begin to enjoy each other as friends and while they're quite disciplined during classes they learn to become free when playing together after classes. Frank and Alice, who have followed James back into their jobs as Aurors, are quite happy that Neville is spending most of his days at the Manor among friends. The shy boy is opening up, just like Harry, and learns to let go of his anxieties and inhibitions. Harry is teaching the other four how to fly a broom and James has stocked up on brooms in the house. Seeing how the only brooms still available were over ten years old he's marched out buying all brand new brooms – eleven of them. He came back from Quality Quidditch Supplies with a beam on his face and said he got one of them as a gift because he bought ten Nimbus 2000s. Seeing them Harry becomes tearful, hugs his father and pulls one of the brooms out of the bunch to run out and try it. Of course we're curious and follow to watch him and what we see lets our collective jaws drop to the floor.

"WOW! Look at him fly!" James screams.

"He's amazing!" Sirius says in awe.

"He's definitely a flyer," I confirm.

Hermione turns slightly green. James sees it and tells her:

"Don't worry, Hermione, you don't have to do what he does up there. Just sit on the broom like you would on a motorbike or a horse and have a go – slowly at the start and then slowly you can go faster, just as you get the feel for the broom. It's not that difficult."

"Okay. I'll try in any case," she promises.

"That's the spirit! Spunky gal! You'll see how you gain a very special kind of freedom in the air. It's a real confidence booster," James tells her with a wide grin.

He certainly knows all about that. Lily bends down to Hermione and whispers:

"He must be right on that – he certainly needed all the confidence he could get from riding his broom by the way he pleaded with me to go out with him for years. Had to be pretty confident for holding it up as I kept saying no for a long time. I'm a bit sorry about that now though."

"Do you mean to tell me that I shouldn't hold out too long for Harry?" Hermione repeats slyly.

"Not sure if you intend to?"

"Not now that I know what would wait for him if I didn't speak up. I'm going to claim my wizard early on, Lily."

The tall and the tiny witch both have a very satisfied grin on their faces. Between them, Harry will be well protected and loved. Both of them are driven by the same kind of motivations, and Lily has well and truly already welcomed her future daughter-in-law. I'm not sure whether Harry is already aware of that fact.

At dinner, Harry talks to James about his interest in contacting the Lovegoods.

"Xenophilius Lovegood? Yes, I know him quite well. I've actually passed on Amelia's statistics from the WEA to him. Why?"

"He has a daughter, Luna, she's a year younger than I. She used to be a wonderful friend, and I happen to know that she's often very lonely. I'd like to invite her to join us at school..."

"You're not beginning to build up a harem, are you?"

"Dad! Luna is just a friend, I assure you. But once you meet her you'll know why she's special. And very, very vulnerable."

"Don't worry, Harry, I was just teasing. I'll talk to Xeno. He might be interested on her behalf."

"And she'll come in and feel right at home, you'll see. She's the most placid girl I've ever met! A good model, too: she won't let anyone or anything get to her, no matter who or what. A trait from which all of us hot-blooded Gryffindors can only learn."

"I'm already looking forward to meet that young lady then."

The next evening Harry receives a letter through a very sweet little barn owl. He opens it and after he's read the introduction he starts to smile.

"Here is Luna's answer! Let me read it to you:

"Dear Harry,

It is very nice to hear from you. I don't know how you know me, or even of me, because I'm sure you were never told of my existence, but that's neither here nor there. As you know my name is Luna. Children my own age often call me Loony, which I don't think is nice, but there you go.

My daddy has told me that your daddy has asked him if I wanted to learn with you and some of your friends. It's so very nice of you to think of me, and inviting me. As I always love to learn and my mum is quite occupied with her work as an experimental potions mistress I have to learn a lot on my own, therefore I would love to profit from some professional tutors before I set off for Hogwarts. But as I've only heard from your daddy yet I'd like to learn to know who you are and who your friends are. Can I just come one day and see how it goes?

Thank you very much for that opportunity. I would love to join you, I would just like to know before I commit whether it would suit me. You can send your reply and the one of your father/tutor back with Erato, my barn owl."

She sounds like a very nice, very intelligent and also already very literate young lady. I suppose I'd love to have her in my tiny class. I'm sure she'd do well in all of her classes. Harry jumps up and fetches parchment and quill, quickly composing a reply. He offers a few bites to the owl and hands her the letter, smiling.

Within a few days we can add a little girl to the class of four that is truly impressive. She's the personified innocence and with the growing mischievous minds of the three boys in class her gullibility is getting the better of her at the beginning, but not for very long. Soon she starts to give back as good as she gets and the Manor often seems to shake with all of the laughter from the six children.

**Potter Manor, 25.10.1989**

(Hermione)

Finally, learning and going to school has become fun! I realise that I've only pushed book knowledge into my head so far, but now I begin to understand what it means to learn and later on apply knowledge.

Our days have a completely new structure. Mum and dad have removed us from our regular school and instead of driving us there they drive us up to the Potter Manor now. While we live just two streets away from the seashore, Potter Manor is actually situated on a hill just north of Teignmouth, about eight miles inland. I can't believe that they're actually in the same town as we are! However, I'm not about to lose much thought about it, because now I enjoy my schooling so much!

We usually arrive at the Manor by eight o'clock in the morning and join the big family at breakfast. Then my parents leave for their surgery and the three of us join Harry for classes. Neville and Luna show up just before we start.

Starting at nine in the morning we have a tutor who arrives to teach us all the regular stuff right through until two thirty in the afternoon on four days per week. We only take short breaks between lessons. Then we have time for a well balanced lunch before Remus picks us up for some magical learning. The fifth day is all magical learning. Remus teaches mostly theory and lots of history, but also some hands-on stuff as well. We get used to a much more casual way of learning than we have at the state school.

The library at Potter Manor is huge and spread over several large rooms in the house. The biggest room is spread over two floors, and is the actual library, but from the upper floor there are two more rooms attached that are filled with books. I'm allowed to read whatever takes my fancy and I'm even allowed to take books home to read in my free time, provided I bring them back, which I'm doing of course.

My siblings take equal pleasure in perusing this vast library. Since we've learned that we are magical, a completely new world has opened its doors to us and with knowledge comes understanding and accepting. While Adrian has always been easy with his magic, Imogen and I had problems, because we didn't know what was 'wrong' with us. Adrian never bothered. I think he always knew, but he wouldn't speak it out because he thought Imogen's and my rational thinking would have come down hard on him. Probably would have, too. He's learned his way around us, our Adrian. He's overjoyed about having two boys as friends now, too.

**Ministry of Magic, 31.10.1989**

(Remus)

The big one today. I wonder what Dumbledore did to circumvent Veritaserum. I'm sure he's done something. Whatever it was, if there's the slightest hint of him having done something Amelia is going to put him in stasis until anything he's taken is out of his system. The truth serum is administered and once it should work, Amelia starts with the first few questions, the usual ones, for the protocol.

"What spell have you used to bind your phoenix to you?" Amelia asks.

I'm flabbergasted. This is a brilliant question. If he tells the proper spell, which we know because Fawkes has told us, then the Veritaserum works, because he would never, ever tell this out of his own free will.

"I have never used a spell – Fawkes is my companion," Dumbledore replies calmly. He looks smug, but only until he notices that he's just walked into a trap.

"Fawkes, may I request your presence, please?" Amelia calls, and now it's her, who looks smug.

Fawkes flashes into the room and everyone gasps, at least a little. Most of the people have seen the firebird before, but it is indeed an impressive view every time it turns up. Fawkes takes residence on the judge's desk and looks at Amelia.

"Would you kindly confirm that you have been forced to stay at headmaster Dumbledore's side, Fawkes?"

The bird looks back to the judge, Arthur Weasley's brother Simon, and bobs its head, probably projecting an image to him, because his eyes get wide. Simon Weasley stares at Dumbledore, completely shocked and dismayed. He interrupts and asks the bird:

"May I place this memory in a Pensieve, Fawkes?"

Again, the bird bobs its head. Weasley calls for a court Pensieve, which doesn't allow tampering with memories. Dumbledore looks decidedly queasy now. I'm glad there are anti-apparition wards in place, because it seems he's tried to circumvent Veritaserum after all. As soon as the memory shows, I remember it as the same sequence Fawkes has already shown Harry and me. Seeing this leaves no doubt.

"Seeing as Albus Dumbledore has just been able to lie under the influence of Veritaserum, we have ample reasons to believe he has taken something to prevent the serum from working as it should. I request that he should be sequestered until whatever he's taken has left his system and he can be questioned properly," Amelia demands.

"Granted. Aurors, take the witness into protective custody. He is to be stunned until any potion or spell has worn off."

The Aurors on duty stun Dumbledore without further warning and levitate him out of the room to a previously prepared holding facility. We know that Amelia has planned ahead, but I didn't have the first idea how she would proceed.

"The hearing continues next week, on the fifth of November, at ten o'clock. Madam Bones, kindly see to it that the witness is thoroughly looked over. And I think that everyone in here would be better if you could refrain from further shocks to our nervous systems. You might go down in history of magical law for your demonstrations..."

The gavel falls, Amelia grins and looks rather smug.

"Thank you, sir; I think that's something I could live with. Unfortunately, sometimes I won't be able to avoid such shock, because I want to bring the truth to the light of day. As you could see this man has more to hide. It needs to be brought out, because I have the suspicion that the 'Greater Good' he keeps talking about isn't exactly the greater good for everyone."

"If anyone is able to tickle it out of him it will be you, Amelia," says Simon, returning to the more familiar address.

"I do hope so. I wish we knew what he did to circumvent Veritaserum. I don't have many more things to make him stumble that I know for sure. But we'll be on him in the next two days. Though he won't know..."

**Ministry of Magic, 5.11.1989**

(Remus)

James is an Auror on duty today. Sirius, Lily, Hermione and Harry are with me, as is Minerva and some others of the Hogwarts staff. Some of them will naturally be called to the stands as witnesses.

Dumbledore has smoothly gone from being a witness to being a defendant. That's all that I know. It could well be that the hearing, which has now been moved up to a trial, will be adjourned again, if Dumbledore is clever enough to ask for a legal representative. And I'm sure he will do that. The rules of procedure are the same in the wizarding world as in the Muggle world. A defendant has the right to a legal representative. But I'm certain that Dumbledore will not be allowed any freedom outside of the courtroom; he'll be brought in by Aurors, guarded by Aurors and he will be fed by Aurors. They will not allow him any moment to cheat again.

Again, Dumbledore gets Veritaserum. I have never seen him as he looks now. Gone is the confidence and I think he has lost his calm as well. His face is ashen and whatever he's done to avoid the truth serum's power must have been found. As soon as Amelia takes up the questioning again it's noticeable that she won't take any shit. She has had a few months to prepare her case and she's ready.

"According to the evidence we have found in the first day of hearing we have stepped up this hearing to a trial. The witness is now a defendant and he has been informed accordingly. He has been offered legal assistance, but he has denied the offer. Therefore, we can go ahead with the questioning as planned last week."

Dumbledore wants to defend himself? I can hardly believe it. He must have sensed that this time he can't smooth-talk himself out of trouble the way he's done it for years and years. Amelia asks him about a number of things that have happened well before my time. She then works herself through to the early seventies, when he's become headmaster. A few questions are about Voldemort:

"Is it true that you have been the person who informed Tom Riddle about his magic?"

"Yes."

"Could you give us an account of that?"

Dumbledore tells the story of his visit at the Muggle orphanage, where Riddle has grown up and what he observed about the boy.

"What impression did you get of the boy?"

"He was very bright. Unfortunately, he had a tendency to steal and to be cruel. I stated right then that such behaviour would not be tolerated at Hogwarts."

"Did he comply?"

"In most ways. He grew into a very charming young man, but I always knew he would have to be handled with a firm hand. As he was not in my house, I cannot say if he had been treated correctly. Horace Slughorn was always slightly lackadaisical in his approach to the students. He preferred to be a friend rather than a master. Riddle may have been a good actor. I kept an eye on him, but that was mostly all I could do."

"You kept an eye on him after he left school, too?"

"Yes, I did try to follow his career. I was rather astonished to find that he went on to work as a shop assistant. He had been head boy after all."

"Do you know when he started to drift to the Dark side?"

"Long before he left Hogwarts. I firmly believe he committed murder during his time at school."

"But you don't have proof of that?"

"Unfortunately I didn't. Or, my proof would have probably been disregarded."

"Who did he murder?"

"Myrtle Frobisher. She was killed in 1943, when an unknown monster was let into the school. To this day she remains behind as a ghost, known as Moaning Myrtle. Rubeus Hagrid, who was a third year student then, was charged and expelled, but there was no proof. I know that the 'monster' he was supposed to have was a baby Acromantula, by no means a harmless creature, but back then too small to do any harm. No further investigation took place. Tom Riddle, at the time a fifth year Slytherin prefect, had tattled on Rubeus Hagrid, and his word was taken for the truth. I believed otherwise, but I wasn't heard. I do think that Hagrid would certainly testify that he was not the one responsible."

"Voldemort must have used that murder to create the diary Horcrux," I whisper to Harry.

He nods.

"He did. He also killed his father and grandparents while he was still at Hogwarts, but over a year later."

"What a horrible kid that was," Sirius whispers.

"Absolutely horrible. Incredibly cruel from the start of his life," Harry confirms.

"We shall take note of that. Was that the year when the fabled Chamber of Secrets had been opened? Is there any truth in that?"

"It was the year, yes. It is possible that the Chamber exists. However, no one has yet been able to locate the Chamber."

"If you accuse Tom Riddle of the murder, then you must accuse him to have opened the Chamber?"

"Since I can't prove that the Chamber really exists I can't claim that for certain. But I suspect that is the case."

"So he literally got away with murder at the age of fifteen years?"

"He did. He was usually able to blame someone else for his own crimes."

Amelia takes a sip from her water goblet. She thinks for a moment and then wants to know:

"Let's fast forward to your first year as headmaster. Tom Riddle turned up again and asked you for employment as a teacher of Defence against the Dark Arts, is that correct?"

"He had asked for that right after school, but fortunately Armando Dippet, my predecessor, denied his request. When he asked for the position again I turned him down most decidedly. He had already been well on the path to where he started out to terrorise the magical community. I could and would not expose Hogwarts students to his way of thinking. I let him know that I knew of his Death Eaters and called him out on that. I expect he left somewhat angry, because he cursed the position for all who would hold it. Shortly after that he came out to the open and sent his minions on their raids."

"You have founded a little undercover group of actionists to work against the Death Eaters. When was that?"

"I started the Order of the Phoenix in 1969, when I got the first few people under my wings who took that fresh threat seriously and wanted to work against him. At the beginning we were very successful in sussing out much of the knowledge about the Death Eaters. As students left Hogwarts I contacted the most trustworthy of them and added more members to the Order. The young people proved to be an enormous help."

"You continued to recruit up to the fall of the Dark Lord, did you not?"

"Yes."

"You lost quite a few of them on the way?"

"Yes."

"Who were the students you recruited from the Hogwarts year of 1978?"

"It started with Sirius Black, later on he was joined by Lily Evans, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Dorcas Meadowes, Alastair McGovern and, if memory serves me right, Peter McKinnon. He later on brought his wife Marlene to the fold as well."

"Barely a year later you had an interview with an applicant for the position of a Divinations teacher at Hogwarts at your brother's bar in Hogsmeade, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"What was her name?"

Dumbledore blanches. I think he doesn't want to give that away. He struggles, but the truth serum does not allow him to keep this information to himself.

"Sybill Trelawney."

"What did you think of her?"

"My first impression was that in spite of her famous grandmother, Miss Trelawney was a blank. I was close to denying her the position when she proved that she was genuine."

"She gave a prophecy?"

"Yes."

"What was the prophecy?"

Again the struggle to resist the potion. He actually gets a red head from the struggle, but then it is brought forth:

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

A collective gasp goes through the room. The wording of the prophecy leaves no doubt that if it is true, then Voldemort is not gone completely.

"Do you know who the One is?" Amelia asks on.

"Yes."

"Who is it?"

Now this he certainly doesn't want to answer either. Crikey, he'll have to give up everything he knows and I'm sure he thinks it will compromise the quest.

"Harry Potter."

"The Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Yes."

"Why do you believe he is the one?"

"Because he's been marked by Voldemort."

"The lightning bolt shaped scar?"

"Yes."

"What does that mark mean?"

"It means that Voldemort is not dead. Voldemort left some of his powers in the boy."

"When Voldemort killed the Potters you have stepped up to get hold of little Harry Potter. Why did you do that? His parents were prepared and left a will, stating their preferred guardians for their child and also stating who they did not want to be the guardians of their son. Yet you placed the child exactly with the people they categorically excluded as fit guardians."

"I have secured the boy from any further danger. His mother's sacrifice provided him with a blood protection, which could only be used if the boy went to her sister's family, because the sisters share the same familial blood. I personally set up the spells that protected the child."

"Except that they apparently did not protect the child from his relatives. The prosecution will bring in the Dursley family later on as witnesses for this, your honour," Amelia remarks to the judge.

Simon Weasley nods.

"What were the conditions that needed to be met for this protection to work, Mr. Dumbledore?" Amelia asks.

"Not many. The boy needed to be with a blood relative and had to be able to call their house his home. As long as his aunt loved him no harm could befall him."

"Again, the witnesses should throw more lights on these facts. However, my next question concerns Harry's education. Did you have specific plans for Harry?"

This seems to be reaching the limit for the old man. Up to now he's given up sensitive information, but if he answers this question he is going to incriminate himself.

"Yes," he says and looks like he knows exactly what the next questions will be.

"What were these plans?"

"I needed to have a pliable boy to come to Hogwarts. Under no circumstances should the boy be told about his magic before he comes to Hogwarts. He needed to be dependent, he needed to see me as his mentor, his main confidant, I needed him to be small and insecure so he would not bemoan the fact that only through his own death would he be able to vanquish Voldemort once the Dark Lord would return."

Lily and James jump up and both swing their fists in Dumbledore's direction. He just proves that he was going to sacrifice Harry for his own gain.

"You believe that the boy must be killed?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because there is a piece of Voldemort's soul in his scar. Only through his death would this piece be evicted from his body. It's possible that he could survive if the Killing Curse only kills the piece of soul."

Now Lily screams:

"There is NO Horcrux in Harry's scar. My protection was complete and did not allow for such a vile thing to be created in his head!"

Simon Weasley looks up and drops the gavel.

"No interference from the public, please! Madam Bones, please contact the lady for questioning in the witness's stand."

"Will do, judge," Amelia says with a grin.

She turns back to Dumbledore.

"So – without proof of anything you have decided that this child must be sacrificed? Not only that, but you have deemed it acceptable that before you sacrifice him coldly to the monster he must suffer every possible kind of abuse from his so-called relatives?"

"Yes."

Only the truth serum made him admit this. Without it Albus Dumbledore would never have admitted to such an atrocity. Even the purebloods, who are normally not squeamish at all, would regard this kind of abuse as far outside of the normal treatment of a child.

"You have the audacity to misuse a child and you don't even lose a thought about your cruelty towards this child?"

"Yes."

"Do you even have a heart, old man?"

This question is obviously rhetoric, but as the man is under the influence of Veritaserum, he answers it:

"No."

Another public gasp. Amelia, startled at first, that there is even a reply to her rhetoric question, swivels around and stares him in the eyes.

"No? What do you have in there to keep you alive then?"

That question seems to bring him in full panic mode.

"There is a pump that keeps my blood flowing."

"But no feelings?"

"I do not have feelings anymore."

"Why ever not?"

"They are a luxury that I cannot afford. I am the leader of the Light, I have to be hard to pull through the decisions I have to make."

"Why?"

"No one else but me knows what's best for the Greater Good. I am solely standing against the Dark," Dumbledore spouts out like this should be common knowledge.

"You are certainly not solely responsible for the magical world! We have a Wizengamot and we have the Ministry. Your responsibility is shared with everyone else here. Just because you were the Supreme Mugwump doesn't mean that you're the only one!" Amelia exclaims.

But she isn't done yet. The next question is also going to take him apart:

"We come back to your Order, Mr. Dumbledore. In 1980 there was a new member by the name of Severus Snape, wasn't there?"

"Yes."

"This Severus Snape was a Death Eater?"

"Yes. He had seen the error of his ways."

"So you thought it would be a good idea to keep a Death Eater in your ranks who was willing to leave Voldemort's merry band of murderers?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He offered his services as a spy."

"Did you check him up?"

"Of course not, that would be unethical. I believed him."

"Why did you believe him?"

"He came to me asking for protection and offered his services as a spy for our side."

"Did you ask him why he wanted to do this?"

"Yes."

"What was his answer?"

"That he had realised that the prophecy was about Harry Potter. He had overheard the first half of it and brought that information back to Voldemort. When he realised that Harry Potter was a possible candidate he wanted me to protect Lily Potter."

Amelia interrupts the questioning and writes down a note, which she passes to one of the Aurors standing guard in the room. He reads it, nods to Amelia and vanishes from the courtroom.

"Did you at any moment doubt that Severus Snape was entirely on your side? Did you not suspect that maybe Voldemort took the opportunity to plant his own spy right in the midst of your Order?"

"Of course not. I trust Severus with my life."

"You certainly vouched for him in the trials that followed Voldemort's demise. Is there a reason why you have let him run roughshod over every student in his classroom that's not in Slytherin since you graciously gave him a position on your staff?"

"He is a bit strict, but I wouldn't call it running roughshod! I have to give him leeway so he can keep the students in Slytherin House under control."

"No further questions at this time," Amelia declares.

When Dumbledore is let out of his stand and chained to the defendant's seat the witnesses are called in. Amelia questions them so thoroughly that Dumbledore himself can't get much more out of them. Amelia has successfully taken the wind out of most of his questions in the cross examination. As one of the last, James is called to the stand.

"Did you have any sense of what was closing in on you before the night Voldemort attacked you?"

"Yes and no. We were told that there was a traitor in the Order. We knew that someone in the Order had given away secrets, but we never knew who it was. All of us were aware of the fact that many of our plans were already known to our enemies when we put them in motion. Unfortunately that thoroughly spoiled our trust in each other. I felt that Dumbledore knew who it was, but he never did anything against it. Since I've read the reports from Pettigrew's trial I understand that he did have his suspicions and never brought them forth. Were he truly interested in us, he would have given his warning not only concerning Voldemort but also Voldemort's spy, Pettigrew. He might have saved us from a lot of heartache, especially between my two best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. My wife Lily and I could only watch helplessly how they fell apart almost completely. The two of us were convinced it was no one in our closest circle. We didn't notice then that Dumbledore was subtly avoiding the mention of anyone to further our distrust."

"We have learned in the meantime that Dumbledore knew about the switch in Secret Keepers, even though he testified otherwise under oath. Can you enlighten us about the casting of the Fidelius charm at your home?"

"That can be told short and sweet. Dumbledore offered to be the caster. Lily told him that she was perfectly capable of casting the charm. I think he was a bit miffed, but he bid us goodbye and wished us luck. At that point, both, Sirius and Pettigrew, were still with us, but Sirius also left then. Pettigrew was to give Sirius the information where we were hidden right afterwards, but I think he never did, because I didn't see Sirius anymore before we died."

"Did you talk to your Secret Keeper?"

"Yes, he came by twice and both times we asked if he had given the information to Sirius and Remus, both times he had an excuse. In hindsight I have to believe he simply never wanted to tell them, so they couldn't turn up when the murderer would show on our doorstep. He knew how powerful they both are."

This is all known. James can only reiterate what had come out at Pettigrew's trial, but of course, it also concerns Dumbledore. The next witness though is Lily, and she has new information.

"Lady Potter, you have called out during the defendant's questioning that there could be no Horcrux in your son's head. Would you kindly elaborate on this fact? First of all, would you explain to us what a Horcrux is?"

"A Horcrux is a container for a soul fragment. What Dumbledore meant was that the scar that my son got from his encounter with Voldemort contains a fragment of the murderer's soul, split off accidentally when the berk tried to kill Harry with a Killing Curse. Which, as you all know, bounced off and hit Voldemort himself instead."

A collective gasp of most of the audience is heard, not only at Lily's naming of Voldemort, but also her calling him a berk. I grin.

"Do you have any idea why that might have happened?"

"Oh certainly. As a mother I was more than ready to give up my own life to protect my child. Voldemort didn't, doesn't and never will understand the power of love or even accept the possibility that love is power. But in giving my life and my love in front of my baby I put a protection on him that was more than powerful enough to circumvent the hatred you need to cast a Killing Curse successfully. Voldemort didn't come to kill me. He would probably have even let James live. All he was interested in was my baby. And I'm not about to sacrifice ANY child of mine. Would readily do it all over again!"

"So it is impossible that this infamous scar holds such a Horcrux?"

"Definitely. I will not elaborate on how to make a Horcrux. It's far too horrible to even consider! But to make one accidentally is an impossibility in itself. It does not only take a physical container, that container must be prepared with a whole series of Dark rituals. And after the killing there are a whole series more spells to be cast. Voldemort, already reduced to his spirit and powerless would have been incapable of doing any such thing. And he didn't have time to prepare the container before casting the curse. It's as simple as that. And if Dumbledore thinks that it might have happened accidentally – not possible."

"Very well. I think that sheds enough light on his claim that the child carries a part of Voldemort inside of him."

Harry, sitting next to me, smiles widely. In fact it's the greatest smile I have seen on his face since I've met him again. Hermione, who is also in our party, seems equally happy.

"That'll send the old codger packing," she whispers.

This from our very proper little Hermione! Wow! I'm especially impressed since Harry has described the Hermione from his previous life as someone who was extremely respectful of authority figures and would hardly even stand criticising of Snape, the old git.

Amelia dismisses Lily from the stand when Dumbledore doesn't want to question her. He looks very angry about the fact that everyone in the room now knows what a Horcrux is. We would probably agree that it isn't something the great public should learn, but there is very scarce literature about it available and most of that is in our hands, which people don't know. Add to that the fact that Lily has not disclosed what the true purpose of a Horcrux is.

The next witness is Minerva.

"Professor McGonagall, you have been working alongside Albus Dumbledore for many years?"

"Since the fall term of 1970, yes."

"What was your impression of the man?"

"I always thought him extremely kind, well mannered, well balanced and found his quirks quite heart-warming."

"Did you ever have doubts that this was but a facade?"

"Oh, certainly. But I know now that at each of the times I voiced such doubts I lost the knowledge of them. A few months ago I was tested and there were numerous obliviation and confounding spells found placed on me. He must have liberally decked me with those spells. I always knew he was incredibly strong with mind magics, but I would never believe that he actually used those talents on me or my fellow staff. I can name at least five or six Order members who have been treated with them as well."

"Would you oppose to testifying under the truth serum, Professor?"

"Not at all. I am ready to testify under Veritaserum, Madam Bones."

A wink and an Auror gives Minerva the dose solved in a small glass of water. She turns her gaze back to Amelia.

"Thank you, Professor. Kindly give us the names of the concerned Order members."

"Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones and Emmeline Vance. Those are the ones still alive. The others, Peter and Marlene McKinnon as well as Dorcas Meadowes are dead."

Another note gets sent. I suppose she sends the Aurors out to call in the witnesses. Can't wait to hear what Moody has to say. Alastor will be beside himself if he learns he's been used!

"And what about the Hogwarts staff?"

"Oh, he's used his Obliviations almost daily on at least one of us. Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout and Poppy Pomfrey have all been tested and relieved of those spells."

I throw a quick glance to Dumbledore who seethes now. That, if nothing else, will completely destroy his credibility. Which Light wizard or witch would use such spells? Especially on people they regarded as friends.

"You say you have been tested. Can you tell us more about that?"

"Someone informed me about the possibility. I doubted it at first, naturally, but then that person called in Filius Flitwick, who performed the cleansing spells. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. I was ready to go and cut him into little pieces to serve them to the Giant Squid! The memories he took from me didn't come back all at once, but in the past months I learned that he's changed my whole personality! I used to be a very active and fun-loving person and he's made this – horrible, unwavering hag out of me! I have always had a high sense of duty and was always impartial and fair, but through his compulsion spells I not only lost my sense of fun and readiness to laugh, I also tolerated Snape's horrid teaching practices. Even though, as the Deputy Headmistress I have the power to stop them I couldn't – because he kept me down with these spells. If he had not been brought in to these questionings I would have gone to the School Governors with this at the end of last term. As it was I decided to wait until he was tried."

Minerva carefully words her answer. She can't lie, but she can go another way in telling Amelia, so that Harry's secret isn't compromised. Since Minerva was always going to be a witness they have, of course, discussed their procedures. She answers a large number of other questions, to do with her teaching, the procedures at school, the way Hogwarts is led by Dumbledore.

"Are there any remarks you'd like to make still? Things I might not have asked you?"

"Yes. I would like to state here that I have knowledge of numerous cases of illegal use of Legilimency, not only by the Headmaster, but by Severus Snape as well. Although we other heads of house have complained multiple times about the treatment of our students Dumbledore did nothing about it. We have received stacks of written complaints from parents, which have all been disregarded. When I tried to advise them to address their complaints directly to the Board of Governors I found that I couldn't. The reason was an oath that he seems to have wheedled out of me. Believe me, when I got rid of all of those spells, curses and enchantments I felt worse than raped! To keep working under these aspects in the past few months has been extremely hard."

Poppy, Pomona and Filius are also questioned and all three of them confirm Minerva's feelings. Dumbledore places a few questions to deter them from their views, but they don't have a problem sticking to their facts.

The final straw for Dumbledore is the last witness, who is brought in almost kicking and screaming, Snape. Harry and Sirius both growl next to me. James does look a bit smug when Snape is stuck in a chair, chained to it and has to take Veritaserum. Since he's been arrested when he didn't expect anything like that to happen, he hasn't been able to take something that would circumvent the truth serum.

Once the personal questions are on the protocol, he's questioned:

"Mr. Snape, you have been a teacher at Hogwarts since when?"

"Fall term of 1980."

"How did you get your position?"

"I asked for it."

"Were you accepted right away?"

"Oh, I had no problems. Once I gave away that I would spy for the Order I was accepted."

"Did you spy for the Order?"

"Not really."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I only gave them information that would have been easy to gain. The Dark Lord wished for me to corrupt Hogwarts and to spy for him."

Everyone in the room looks over to Dumbledore, who's deathly pale now. This must be a total surprise for him. Didn't Dumbledore use Legilimency on Snape? He used it on anyone else it seems!

"You overheard a prophecy in the Hogs Head, is that correct?"

"Yes. Of course I brought it to my master immediately."

"Whose idea was it to go to Dumbledore? Yours or Voldemort's?"

"Mine. But he adopted it at once."

"What was your order from Voldemort?"

"He allowed me much leeway if I was able to alienate my Slytherins completely from the rest of the school. I was to put all other students in a disadvantage in my subject. As he has cursed the position of the Defence teacher that would already be two subjects where students would become failures. In the meantime I was to tutor my own students in both subjects and teach them the Dark Arts as well."

"Did you enjoy your tenure there?"

Snape looks livid. He has already compromised his position as a double agent, but now he is asked a question that he has to answer in the affirmative, which will probably cost him more than his comfortable Hogwarts position.

"Yes."

"Over the past months we have questioned a good number of Death Eaters. You have been spared because Albus Dumbledore vouched for you. Now you have been brought in nevertheless, because of some of his remarks. Have you ever used Avada Kedavra, Cruciatus and Imperius?"

"Yes."

"As a Potions master, have you used lethal potions on people?"

"Yes."

"Have you used them in an aggressive manner, did you want to kill?"

"Yes."

That settles it. Amelia strolls in front of the panel and says:

"No further questions for this Death Eater needed."

Dumbledore probably doesn't want to incriminate Snape any further and therefore Snape is taken directly to a cell in the high security ward of Azkaban.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, that concludes the questioning of the witnesses. I think we have heard more than enough. The list of charges is quite long and even though he has never deliberately killed he's still done everything in the books of ugly things. Consider your verdict."

Amelia doesn't bother with a final statement. She knows that there is no chance Dumbledore will go free and I foresee a sentence of certainly no less than 50 years.

As it's already late afternoon the verdict is adjourned to the next day.

**Ministry of Magic, 6.11.1989**

(Harry)

We return to the Ministry Courtroom for what must be the last time in a while. Today I'll hopefully see the bane of my existence vanish to Azkaban for long enough that he doesn't get out anymore. He's already almost 150 years old, and on average, strong wizards or witches like him make it to about 170 or 180.

The session is short. The jury panel has an unanimous verdict of guilty ready. Judge Weasley gets up and announces:

"Due to the long list of guilty charges of the defendant he is sentenced to Azkaban for 75 years. Pardon can be granted after 40 years at the earliest convenience in the case of good behaviour of the defendant. This case is closed."

Dumbledore is taken away by two Dementors. He has not spoken for the hearing of the last few witnesses and hasn't protested Snape's sentence at all. I'm really glad it's over!

Now I can look forward to my life!


	6. Off to Hogwarts

**Chapter 6 – Off to Hogwarts!**

**The Marauder Townhouse, London, 15.08.1991**

(Remus)

What a wonderful time we've had in the past almost two years! Our children have grown and learned and are now ready to leave for their secondary schooling at Hogwarts.

Much has changed since the day I received Harry's letter. Arthur Weasley is our new Minister and he has worked hard on the legislation. Currently every single law that still might be valid is reviewed. He has abolished all that the purebloods have instigated in the past twenty or more years, brought down most of the werewolf laws among many others and replaced the bad ones with fair laws. There are still some specific laws regarding werewolves, but they have been moved into the criminal code. Deliberate attacks on humans by transformed werewolves still have to be prosecuted and only those among my kind who have sided with the likes of Fenrir Greyback have something to fear from these laws. In the course of the work on the Werewolf Code of Conduct more reasonable laws have been put in place that encourage werewolves to get the Ministry produced Wolfsbane potion or to stay in new shelters that are offered in many British towns for the full moon nights. Sirius has actually set up a foundation with the purpose of helping werewolves who can't afford the potion. Lily has learned to brew it and she has taught Sirius as well, so he now makes it for me.

First generation and half blood witches and wizards will now have the same chances to achieve good Ministry positions. There won't be any limitations for them anymore. As a werewolf I can now find work in all commercial areas or at the Ministry as well. Together with Amelia Bones as the head of the DMLE Arthur will reach his goal in the not so distant future: that all magical beings will live together in more understanding of and respect for each other.

In Hogwarts there have been a number of changes, too. Harry's year is still a small number of students, as will be the next year's crop. But after that there will be a first influx of more students. Many couples have gone on to have many more children once Voldemort was eliminated in 1981.

Of course we know that he's not done with entirely. But Minerva, who has promptly taken over as Headmistress and who has hired Sirius and me to teach Transfiguration and History, has followed Harry's original time line and has hired Quirinus Quirrell, a very average wizard who has been on a sabbatical last year to study to take over the Defence position. This year we expect to destroy Voldemort completely. We will all be ready for the possessed Quirrell. It will not be too difficult to kill Quirrellmort, but it's still an ugly thing we have to do. We actually condemn an innocent wizard to death, because once possessed fully by Voldemort, Quirrell must die. The Ministry is informed and agrees with us that for once we will have to look at the 'Greater Good'. Not a term we like to use, as it reminds us of the great Headbastard himself, who used to throw it around and use people like puppets for it. Would there be an alternative to get hold of Voldemort's spirit?

We still all agree that even Voldemort's spirit must vanish. He's busy rotting out small beings down in Albania and even that can't be allowed.

The Flamels have agreed to play along with the sham. A fake copy of their Philosopher's Stone resides in a vault in Gringotts and if Harry is right then there will be an attempt to steal the Stone from there. The real Stone is, of course, far from Gringotts in London, but none of us have the slightest idea about its actual location and that's how it should be. But if the attempt is made Minerva will then have the Stone brought to Hogwarts, where the teachers will put some make-shift protections over it and we're quite sure that Quirrell will then be ordered to get hold of the Stone. In the meantime we'll tell Hagrid to keep the unicorns hidden as far back in the Forbidden Forest as possible. We'll actually offer to put the best protection around them as possible, even considering a Fidelius charm to secret them away. Apart from unicorns I'd know of nothing that would aid Voldemort to survive except full possession of his victim.

Another thing we've already started is private tutoring for Hagrid. The poor fellow has been another victim of Dumbledore's meddling. Round about fifty years ago there was a person killed when the Chamber of Secrets was opened and Riddle was able to deflect the blame to Hagrid. Hagrid was then expelled from Hogwarts and because the poor fellow was only a third year at the time he was banned from using magic completely. Dumbledore could have helped him, but instead he bound Hagrid to Hogwarts by giving him the job to assist the then grounds keeper. It certainly is a wonderful job for Hagrid, because he loves working with animals, but I think he could do much better. Therefore we've rallied together and had his ban reviewed. The truth was quickly found out with a drop of Veritaserum and dear Hagrid has been allowed to buy a new wand and learn magic again. Of course he's learned a lot on the sly over the years, using his 'umbrella', which held the parts of his broken original wand, but it's not a good match anymore. We teach him as much as he needs to know to pass the tests and then he can take over the teaching job from Kettleburn, who wants to retire anyway. All we have to do is to prevent him from teaching the lethal kinds of magical animals. His love of anything that crawls and his immense knowledge in the field will make him a good teacher.

The extended family has gathered at the Marauder Townhouse to buy six children's Hogwarts equipment. Actually there should be only three to start next year only, but Minerva has invited the younger three anyway, because she knows exactly that they are all on par with their studies. Harry, Hermione, Neville, Imogen, Adrian and Luna have become the best of friends while coming to school at Potter Manor. Along with the children their parents have also become close. The Grangers have happily joined us on many occasions and we've been able to have a good number of parties at their home in Teignmouth. The Longbottoms have readjusted to a full life again and still live with Frank's mother, but they are now expecting a second child. Neville is as thrilled as Harry, who often carries around his little brother Robert. Lily and James have had their second son last August, just a year after the dramatic summer of 1989. We have all been very happy for them and Sirius and I enjoy being his joint godfathers. Lily promised not to wait too long for the next one.

Sirius and I have had a good first year as teachers at Hogwarts. It's been great fun, and there have been a few surprises on the way. The funniest was the adoration of two Gryffindor boys, twins from the Weasley family. We Marauders knew their oldest two brothers, Bill and Charlie, who were very nice kids. When we were in our seventh year, Bill was in his third and Charlie was an ickle firstie. Both have long since left school and have already settled in their chosen careers. But the twins have an older brother, Percy, who is a bit of a pain – a pedantic stickler for the rules that does everything so right it's painful to watch. He's an excellent student, but a bore. I really wonder how such a kid found his way into Gryffindor. The twins are, in their own ways, excellent students, too, at least in Sirius and my subjects, but they aren't the best in turning in proper homework. Personally I think they have a lot of talent, but they're practical more than intellectual. And they're very gifted pranksters. Minerva has given us more than one angry glance when we both laughed rather than punished, but I happen to know that she, once back in her office, laughs her head off!

She's fast growing into the most loved Headmistress ever. It seems that since she's out of Dumbledore's thumb she has a smile for everyone at the castle. She's been able to build a very good crew of teachers, keeping on staff everyone who was good before and added new ones of quality. Quirrell is the exception, he's rather clumsy in most things, but she reckons that we can survive a year with him. She still treats everyone with the same strict fairness as she used to do, but her natural charm is out and the punishments she has to dole out from time to time are accepted for what they are: a means to guide students to become better.

What I do notice though is something that Harry observed. In his first life the teachers had a history on just judging upon what they actually saw – which was usually the end of a confrontation and thus they punished only based on that picture in their mind. Now there are questions asked regarding the back story of such a confrontation. Knowing what led to a fight usually changes the punishments that are handed out and will involve the provocateurs as well as the children who are provoked. This teaches them that to provoke is just as wrong as it is to react to provocation.

I love history, always have, and I've worked hard on my course for all seven years. After the 200 or so years that Binns has bored the Hogwarts students out of their wits they now find that history mustn't be a boring subject. I've also taken over what little Muggle history the Muggle studies teacher has taught and integrate it into my own course. The old Muggle studies instructor was a pureblood who had no idea about history in the first place and never understood anything about Muggles in general. The new one is a Muggle born who has lived his whole life in a Muggle neighbourhood and knows about all the latest technologies as well as most other aspects of Muggle culture. He's also worked out a completely new course. Both of us have given our material to the Ministry's Wizarding Examination Board, where they are now putting together new OWLS and NEWTS exams based on our courses. The students have taken to both courses immediately and I think in spite of Sirius being the best looking teacher in Hogwarts his Transfiguration course runs second to the new Muggle Studies course, because Quincy Smith makes it so much fun that even the most die-hard pureblood child must enjoy it! No more diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy loads, instead outings to see how the big cranes work and carry the heaviest kinds of loads. Every Muggle studies lesson takes place outside of Hogwarts in a Floo connected classroom on the outskirts of a small Muggle village, where they can actually see all that technical progress. It's a house, which we have bought for the school and refurbished with all the latest technology. Everything from modern kitchen appliances to modern telecommunication, every frippery of modern Muggle life is in there. The children also find popular games, computers and computer games. There's a car for the older students to study. The seventh years actually will learn to drive for their NEWTS. Is it any wonder that it has become a new favourite subject? There are many who wish that they had actually chosen it from the first praise Quincy has received in his first year as a teacher.

Sirius has it easier. Minerva has left him her material, upon which he can build. He intends to have a larger variety of things from one year to the next. Of course that still leaves him to teach the same techniques, they don't change, but he wants to have fun as well. Asked her whether she wasn't bored out of her mind after teaching the exact same things year after year; Minerva has lost so much through the Headbastard's manipulations that she never even noticed. Sirius has turned out to be an excellent teacher. We are naturally looking forward to all the children who will come through our classes in the next few decades.

In any case we've had much fun in the past year. We've gone from a practice of giving marked homework to a practice of having quiz classes occasionally, which we count as marks, and the students enjoy the method. Their tests are then either essays or quizzes as well, only written quizzes. Sirius gives them practical more than written homework. Fred and George Weasley's marks have skyrocketed in our subjects because of that. Not everyone is a good essay writer. But many can be a brilliant transfigurator without writing lengthy texts about it. So far the trouble was that those who wrote the best essays were better than those who took to the subject by gift. The exams favoured the theoretical student over the practical one. But as Sirius says it helps one very little if one can write a novel about changing a book to an umbrella. When one stands out in the rain it's more important to actually change the book into an umbrella to evade the rain. He still marks the good essays high, but a good actual transfiguration gets higher points. He does encourage the students who are good at the theory nevertheless. Privately he probably thinks they'll never do much in terms of transfigurations once they left Hogwarts.

But at the moment we enjoy our summer vacation and stay at either Potter Manor or the Marauder Townhouse. Grimmauld Place has been restored to its former beauty and there are now sixteen old houses glittering in their proper white painted walls with black paint on all metal parts and the basements, a square returned to its old Georgian splendour connects the houses.

In the Black house all the windows have been repaired, the house has been painted white and the street entrance door has been replaced with a shiny black door with window panes. Inside there's not one of the ugly house-elf heads left and not even Kreacher is sad that he won't be hung up there one day. He's become a nicer elf in the past two years and since he's not under Sirius' mum's thumb anymore he's useful again, even at his advanced age. He has the support of two of the former Malfoy elves though, who have been bonded to us, Billie and Honky. The three of them keep the Marauder Townhouse in top form now and Billie and Honky come with us to Hogwarts when we're there. The house has been cleaned and painted from top to bottom and down to the basement kitchen. It's huge! There are at least ten bedrooms, there's a whole floor only for the library, then there's a regal drawing room, a master suite with its own bathroom and dressing room, a dining room, a salon and a study. I have reorganised the library. Much of the stuff in there was very dark. These books we have relegated to the attic, where we keep them so they won't go to bad hands. The bedrooms have been cleaned and painted. Old bathrooms have been done up and some new bathrooms have been added. We have thrown out all of the old furniture. There wasn't a piece that had anything nice on them. Every piece was severe and uncomfortable. Sirius wanted a house that didn't remind him of his childhood there and therefore everything is now in soothing earth colours, from beige to brown with accents of screaming orange to soothing olive. The whole house has now a warm, welcoming character.

When the six children are all together they usually stay in two rooms either over at the Potters' or at our place. The girls often come over to us where they find a bit of rest from the over-active boys. I'm very pleased to see how Neville has caught up with them. He's come from a shy little boy to a cheerful chap who will good-naturedly follow the livelier Adrian and Harry into every adventure they concoct and who is very capable to sooth them down again by pulling them into one of his greenhouses. Working with plants will have that effect on the livelier boys.

Harry is simply amazing. Of course, there's the man inside of him, the young man with a horrible life and horrible experiences. But now, after two years in his parents' loving care he's also become a wonderful child, a bit precocious of course, but one with a lovely character, a pleasing helpfulness and a readiness to accept responsibility, which are all traits that will lead him very far.

Hermione, too, has turned out to be an amazing little witch. Contrary to the Hermione in Harry's former life she's ready to stand up to anybody, be they peer or authority figure. She's most probably the only one among us who has seen his entire set of memories, who knows everything there is to know about the first life of Harry Potter. Both of them are probably going to have a very easy time in their first years, but that only means they will have more time to enjoy the more private Hogwarts. Hermione has already learned much on the piano, but she can continue her study of the instrument at Hogwarts, which pleases her a lot. Harry wants to try to learn as well, so he will be in the starting class. Neville looks forward to press every little bit of knowledge about magical plants from Pomona. Imogen, Adrian and Luna have all chosen some non-academic studies as well, Luna and Imogen have chosen a drawing and crafting class, Adrian also keeps studying the piano.

It's still early in the morning. I've always been a morning person, so I enjoy my first cup of tea on our new patio in the fully refurbished garden. Sirius joins me here and greets me with a tender kiss.

"Good morning, Paddy."

"Morning, love! Prophet worth reading?"

"It's getting better, since they've got that new chief editor."

"Had to get better or they would have gone out of business. The new laws that treat libel and slander as crimes almost put them out anyway. I think they must have been sued to the limit," he says, chuckling.

"Too true! I don't know why we're still keeping it, Peter McKinnon's new Today's Chronicle is so much better."

"Still got a good sports page, love. And I do enjoy the crossword puzzle. Must still be the same person who makes that as the one they used to have years ago... who knows, maybe the Prophet will finally notice that they have to do something now that they have a really good competitor? I do prefer the Today's Chronicle for all the news by a huge margin."

"Anything new about the Gringotts break-in? Nothing so far in the Chronicle..."

"Nope. They seem to keep it under wraps. But I think we do know what they have tried to steal, don't we?"

"Yes, we do. It's as Harry described it then. Hagrid brought it up to Hogwarts and we're covering it. Not that our kids will have to go after it though..."

There's a stampede and the house seems to tremble, then three boys come running out of it, followed closely by four dogs. We have got ourselves a pair of Bernese Mountain dogs and they've just had a litter of puppies in spring, of which we still have two. They're the cutest things and the kids are completely besotted with them, all six! It seems that the pups will be going to the Grangers just before we leave for Hogwarts, as George and Helen have also come to like the dogs a lot.

Dogs and preteen boys are an excellent combination. Ours have taken to Harry, Neville and Adrian like the ducklings take to water. When the boys go flying the dogs watch from the ground and whine, because they can't follow!

"Good morning, Sirius and Remus!" all three of them shout.

As soon as they've taken their seats at the long table there's a house-elf popping out with breakfast. The boys thank him and tuck in. I pour a fresh cup of tea to go with my breakfast and Sirius puts down the Daily Prophet.

"Are we going to Diagon Alley today?" Harry wants to know.

"Yes, as soon as we finish our breakfast we head over to your parents, then it's off to the Alley," I confirm.

"I would like to go and see if I can find Hedwig," Harry says with a quiet voice.

"I hope she'll be there – she certainly sounds like a wonderful companion," Sirius answers.

"Yeah, she was. I sometimes thought she could even read! In any case I've missed her very much."

"I'm sure she'll be there. True familiars have a magic of their own, they won't go with anyone. As owls can become quite old they can hold out for a while if they have a companion," I explain.

Harry smiles. It's a more serene smile, but I can understand him. That owl must have been much more than simply a post owl. There's a reason why owls are regarded as wise. They usually are.

We don't allow the boys to rush. They are doing their best to follow the order, so half an hour later we're all set to go over to the other house, from where we'll floo to Diagon Alley.

We have actually connected our two houses with several doors through the walls. These doors can be removed again if one day they're not wanted or needed anymore, but for now they're the connection between two families who regard themselves as one extended family.

Luckily it's summer and the children don't need anything more than their shoes on. The children all wear Bermuda shorts, t-shirts and espadrilles in different colours. Little Bobby looks adorable in his own tiny Bermuda shorts and his first sandals. Lily is still as beautiful as ever. The only one not with us is James, he couldn't get away from work today.

**Diagon Alley, 15.08.1989**

(Harry)

Yay, here we go! Mum and Bobby go first. Mum has the stroller in diminished size and holds Bobby on her arm. It's great to have a little brother! He's a cutie, says Hermione. Not sure I'd call him that, but it's fun to play with him. And girls always gush about little children anyway. Not even Hermione can leave that be.

I really look forward to today's shopping marathon. We are joined by George, Helen and Auntie Alice. Neville's and my dad can't get out of work, but we can live with that. There are more than enough adults in our entourage. Not that I'd mind! It is so much fun to share this with them. I have stopped thinking about the strange feelings of going through some things again a while ago. In the meantime I have been through most of the wizarding places with Mum and Dad. And I've seen heaps of Quidditch matches!

Mum is gone and Auntie Alice sends us children through next, then follow Hermione's parents, Sirius and Remus apparate, and finally Auntie Alice herself. She has stopped working as an Auror, because of the advanced stage of her pregnancy. She looks great, even with a huge belly, but Neville looks queasy every time he looks his mum's way.

Our first stop is Gringott's. We are taken to our vaults, even the Grangers have one now. It cost them less to have money transferred there than to buy Galleons in cash every time they go to the Alley. Once that is done we emerge from the bank and spill onto the Alley, to hook off all points on our school list. Uniforms first. We go to Madam Malkin's. The proprietor greets us herself and smiles at all of us.

"Hogwarts, dears? Just come with me over to this room. There's a boy who gets fitted already, just file in and we'll take you one by one."

We go in and who is there in all his arrogant, blond glory? Malfoy. I wonder how he turned out now that Sirius' great aunt has been able to keep her paws firmly on the git. He looks up and stares at us, then he sneers. I go first. The assistant asks me to hop up on a small pedestal, where she starts measuring me up.

"Hello. Going to Hogwarts for the first time?" Malfoy asks.

"Yup."

"You're not all sisters and brothers, are you?"

Since only Hermione's parents are in with us his question 'can' be asked, although it is still quite stupid.

"No, just Hermione, Imogen and Adrian."

"They're triplets?"

"Nope, Imogen and Adrian are twins, just a year younger than Hermione, and because Hermione is born in September, therefore almost a year older, which again makes Imogen and Adrian almost ready for Hogwarts anyway. So they're allowed to start early."

I act like I don't know him. He falls for it.

"Know what house you'll be in?" he asks.

"You're not supposed to know before you get there, now, do you?"

"No, but I know already I'll be in Slytherin. All my family ever was. Yours?"

"All sorts of houses..." I reply vaguely.

"Those three over there aren't the right sort though, are they? Parents look like Muggles!"

"And so? They're fine."

"I don't think they should be coming to Hogwarts, they're just not the same."

"That's you done, dear. Your robes will be ready and sent to your home," the girl who had been working around Malfoy said.

Without a single word of thanks he rushes out. Still the same old, it seems. But he won't be giving us the 'when my father hears of this...' rubbish, that's for sure, because his parents were both Kissed! Would sound strange if he tried it with 'when my aunt hears of this...' Would give us quite the laugh, that would.

We are fitted and our robes will be finished by the end of the day when we'll return and pick them up. The next stop is the baggage shops where we purchase our trunks. These are slowly filled as the day wears on. The last stop before we are allowed to look for our animals is Ollivander's wand shop. That bit I actually dread a bit, because I can't but wonder if I'm going to react to the same wand as I had before. But here the girls go ahead first and they soon find their wands. When it is Neville's turn there are loads of sparks coming from the wand he finally finds. Adrian lets me go and I step up to be measured.

"There you are, Mr. Potter. I've looked forward to meet you. I still remember when your parents bought their first wands here."

The speech is almost the same, except that on this day, of course, my Mum is right by my side. I do respond to the same wand! It has taken almost as long as the last time, but my phoenix wand is mine. The moment I wave it, Fawkes turns up and trills in my ears.

"Hello, Fawkes! What say you – a feather from you, this one?" I asks.

"As if you didn't know already, rascal!" he trills.

I grin. Fawkes has been with us for almost two years now, and we find him to be just the best friend ever! I expect him to be a faithful companion for a long time.

"The feather in this wand is indeed from this phoenix, Mr. Potter! How did you know?" Mr. Ollivander asks.

"Maybe because he's my companion now?" I ask back and cheekily grin at the old man.

"Ah! That would be an excellent reason. On the other hand it makes it even stranger..."

"What is stranger, Mr. Ollivander?" my mum asks.

"Well, the fact that its brother... why, its brother gave your son this scar!"

"You mean that this is the wand that was compatible with Voldemort's wand and was used for the demonstration the day we were returned to our lives?" Mum presses on.

"Exactly, Mrs Potter. Two years ago it hadn't been sold yet, I had never even had it in my hands since it was created before that day. And now it has become your son's wand. Don't you find that very curious?"

"Yes, I do. But I find it nice, too, after all it's given my husband and me back our lives. And Harry his parents and godfathers."

"There is some wonderful justice in that, I would agree, Mum!"

She is right! I have a new reason to love my wand even more, one that will make it more precious to me than ever before. It has returned my family to me; the family that an old man has cost me because he kept too many secrets and mistook himself almost for a god.

"Onto find Hedwig now, friend! She's waiting for you!" Fawkes trills on.

We pay for our wands and head on to Eeylop's Owl Emporium. I can't believe it! As soon as I enter the shop a white missile with the familiar black speckles across her chest and belly throws herself on me and I want to cry of happiness. This can't be any other owl than MY Hedwig!

"I've missed you so much, girl! You didn't deserve to die!" I whisper stroking her feathers under her chest.

It takes me all but three minutes to carry her to the counter, pay for her and all the periphery stuff I needed for her and leave the shop again. Adrian selects an owl as well, as does Luna, the others prefer a cat. Therefore we move on to the Magical Menagerie, where Hermione spots the fluffy ginger cat named Crookshanks. At this time he is still almost a kitten. Hermione points her finger up to the cat and asks:

"I'd like this one up there! He looks gorgeous!"

"Are you sure, my girl? Wouldn't call him the runt of his litter, but rather the ugly brute. No one looked twice at him so far."

"That's why! I find him gorgeous."

"Well, you're welcome to take him off my hands. He's a half Kneazle, do you know how to take care of him?"

"Does he have special needs different from a cat?"

"Not really. Just be aware that he has some of the traits a Kneazle has."

"Very well. I suppose I will need a carrier, food bowl, a bed for him and some toys?"

The pet periphery items piles grow in leaps and bounds. As Muggles we'd probably be in great trouble with all that stuff. Luckily we can reduce everything in size, and our trunks are fitted with featherweight charms as well. But we are finally through with the shopping and everyone is thoroughly exhausted. Mum and Auntie Alice must be pretty glad to be able to take us home after a very long morning's shopping. We are all a bit subdued the rest of the afternoon. Luna leaves for her home and Auntie Alice leaves Neville at our place to be able to get some rest. Neville and I sit in my room once Hermione and the twins have left, too.

"D'you think you'll be in Gryffindor?" Neville asks.

"Suppose so – I'll at least ask the Hat to put me there."

"I know you don't want to talk about the future. But will you tell me where I was placed?"

"You go to the house that suits you best, Neville, make no mistake. You know what's best for you and if you're confident enough to ask for it the Hat will grant it to you. It will know your feelings."

"It would be nice if all six of us got together!"

"It certainly would – and do you know what? I think it will be!"

**Platform 9 ¾, King's Cross Railway Station, London, 1.9.1991**

(Remus)

Sirius and I have to accompany the Potters, Longbottoms, Grangers and Lovegoods to the station to see the children off! There's just no way we could leave for Hogwarts without waving them off from the station. It's their first ride. Just like all magical children here they await this for many years and are excited when the day finally arrives. One could argue that it's idiotic for children who live in Hogsmeade to Floo to London and take the train all the way back to Scotland. But it's one of those dear old traditions that are so well loved that no one would even dare to replace them. On September 1st, the magical secondary school children ride the Hogwarts Express, that's just how it is. And frankly, the kids love it, too, because it's a good transit between summer holiday and school. The first years usually already find some friends on the way.

It's lovely to see the many families mingling in the space of the platform. The Hogwarts Express is now one of the first subjects I touch in teaching history to the first years, the ones who already received the lessons so far all loved it, so I think these little ones will enjoy it, too!

The school is returning to a good standard, too. As an educator it really hurt to see how the subjects taught at Hogwarts dwindled to the bare necessity of the core subjects and a small number of electives. How Dumbledore was able to keep up the appearance of the school being one of the best in the world is a sheer miracle to me. Now that I can see inside I notice that it lacked everywhere! The only good teachers that were left are Minerva, Filius, Pomona, Professor Sinistra and Septima Vector, all else were mostly useless. Minerva has terminated them post haste the year after she took over.

Minerva put a stop on the deterioration. To reform the whole school she fought for the reformation of the school governors' body first. Then she gained the support from her old friend within the Ministry to get them to accept her reforms and now we're starting up fresh with a modernised syllabus that we put together over the last year and with a fresh staff of professional teachers. To be honest, the older students won't recognise Hogwarts anymore! I expect that even Fred and George Weasley will find it more fun to learn new things. Teaching those two in the last year I quickly noticed that in most cases they were simply bored out of their skulls. My history course must have been interesting for them, because I never understood why others in the teaching staff have complained about them. In my classes they are completely attentive and participate. I don't know if it had something to do with the fact that I drew their attention to one or two successful pranksters among the historical figures. It might also have been because I tend to draw the children in. I detest to just stand in front and lecture.

Anyway, it is a fun day today, we all meet up for breakfast at Grimmauld Place and then take the kids to the station where Lily hands me Bobby to give Harry his hug.

"I don't want to let you go to Hogwarts without thanking you for everything you have done, Harry. That took, oh, so much courage and you have gone through everything without a glance over your shoulder. You are one of the greatest heroes, Harry, because you don't see it that way and because you don't only just display false modesty, but truly are that modest. I do wish you a wonderful experience at a school that must have been greatly improved if we can believe your godfathers. Have fun! And Minerva tells me to tell you that you should try out for the team anyway. Even though it's Sirius and Remus who will have the Cup in their office, she said."

We all laugh and Harry blushes.

"No pressure then, eh? Won't everyone just think I got it because I'm the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Not if you forget that you're shy and tell everyone just WHY you lived! A hero you are because of that in the public's eye, but a true hero you are for a whole lot of other reasons, love, and all of them are more important than that failed Killing Curse," Lily insisted. "Not everyone will understand the difference, but those who do – these are the people whose friendship you should seek.

"All right, Mum, I'll do it! I planned to go that way anyway."

"Great! And if you get it, it will be because you are good enough to get it. Got it?" James joked.

"Got it, Dad. But if I get it you'll have to come and watch the matches!" Harry ordered.

"Would take more than one dragon to keep me away, Harry," James assured his son.

Sirius and I just give him a short hug and remind him that we'll be there when he gets to the Great Hall.

"It'll be great to see it all again – and without the slimy git and the headbastard," Harry whispers.

"Right in one. Minerva's returning the school to be a school and not a political battlefield. That's not to say that you're not allowed to be interested in politics and discuss it, on the contrary, but you won't be misused for someone's misguided political views."

"Yeah, I know and I'm looking forward to that. Will you help me prank dad?"

"What? Telling him you were sorted into Slytherin or something?"

"Exactly! I'll write him and he'll certainly ask you! Just confirm it."

"No problem. Now off you hop, look, Hermione is already looking at the clock, worrying!"

The children all scramble onto the train and we watch as the Express takes off, waving until the train has left the station. I turn to my friends and family.

"Well, they're off. You will look after them, won't you, Remus, Sirius?" Lily asks.

"As much as they will need looking after, dear," Sirius promises, and grins.

"I'm sure they will keep in contact with us, Lily. Harry will know how to find our quarters and he's welcome there subject to curfew. We have told him, too."

"Good. Can I have my son back now?"

I grin and hand her Bobby back. It's not the best of weather today, and the warm presence of the baby leaving my shoulder lets me shiver. I dread moving back up to Scotland, because even in summer it's rather cold. We have already moved the dogs to the castle. We don't have to move personal goods anymore, because in the meantime we've stocked up on clothes and things, all I have to move anymore are some of my books. This year I have a surprise as I have a new gadget installed in my History classroom, a screen and an overhead projector as well as a film projector, which allows me to show pictures and even films. I don't think that any magical events have ever been filmed, but I think that might come to pass in the very near future.

Slowly we filter out of the platform back into the Muggle London. We don't have far to go, Grimmauld Place is only a few stops on the tube away.

**Hogwarts Express, 01.09.1991**

(Hermione)

I thought we'd never get on that train! My, what a chaos in front of it! All those many people! I only knew how many magicals there are in Britain, but hadn't ever seen so many at once, not even on Diagon Alley. We could hardly breathe for the amount of people on that platform. On the train it's a bit better, because it's been built to hold a significantly larger amount of students. I wonder if the space on the platform wouldn't run out if enough children went to the train to fill it! How many more would be coming with them and add to the chaos.

We find a compartment that's empty and take our seats. We have our pets with us and the trunks are stowed under the seats. It looks like there's a huge space dilation charm on the inside of the train, because all compartments seat up to eight and the seats are wide enough to fit the big trunks underneath and stuff overhead as well. We let our pets out and choose our places.

"Phew – there we are. What do you think, should we introduce ourselves with a nice little prank?" Adrian asks.

"Don't you dare!" Imogen and I tell him off in one voice.

Harry, Neville, Luna and Adrian all laugh their heads off. Imogen and I are sometimes more like twins than Imogen and Adrian!

"There's no need for a prank right at the start," I insist.

"Well, then let's talk about a strategy for the Sorting Hat. You will go first, Adrian. Remember that you'll give the Hat hell until it places you in Gryffindor. It really is our house, believe me! There's warmth up there and once you've looked into the quarters at the other houses you'll prefer the warm, lively red and gold any day!" Harry says.

"No problem, Harry. Should be quite easy," Adrian replies.

Not that I worry about that. If anyone exudes courage and confidence it's certainly Adrian. He's rather cocky, but he also never lets anyone down. Should do nicely to qualify for Gryffindor, brave and loyal. Imogen, Luna and I on the other hand... we're all bookworms. We're certainly loyal, too, but not necessarily rash and brave.

"Don't worry about being a bookworm, Hermione, my mum was a bookworm after all and she landed herself in Gryffindor, too..."

"Well, she is amazingly courageous, Harry! After all she gave her own life to save you. That takes more guts than anything else!"

"Yeah, but the Sorting Hat couldn't know that, now could it?"

"Granted. So I for one will go for the calm way, asking for Gryffindor."

"I will have it easy. I'll simply ask to be placed where my friends are – where Adrian is," says Luna.

"Same here. I may not be the gutsiest girl, but I do want to be with my friends! And make new ones as well..." Imogen suggests.

"Sounds like a plan," says Neville. "I will do the same. Dad was a Hufflepuff, Mum was a Gryffindor and I'm at least looking like my mum all over! Reasons enough to be allowed into Gryffindor."

"You ARE your mum all over, Neville! Embarrassed whenever we tease you about your mum's pregnancy, but I'm sure you'll protect your sibling like a bulldog once it's born!" I encourage him.

We spend most of the long day of the train ride reading, playing and talking. Of course we have to try some of the offerings from the food tray.

After about half an hour the door slides open and a red-haired boy with tons of freckles and a spot of dirt on his nose looks inside.

"Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full!"

"Does this look empty to you?" Harry asks and goes on: "There must be more space, the train is only half full of students! In other words, sorry, no, we're full."

"Oh. Sorry."

The boy leaves. From the glare Harry still has on his face I deduce that this must have been the infamous Ron Weasley. I don't think I'm hot for him to sit with us either. From Harry's memories I know what to expect from him. I think the Weasleys must be a strange bunch. Sirius, James and Remus claim that the oldest two are really nice and that especially Bill is really cool. Then there is Percy, who is supposed to be a stickler for the rules, while the twins who follow after Percy are more like the Marauders and both, Remus and Sirius like to teach them. Finally Ron and Ginny. Ron is the lazy kid with the ambition to profit from everyone without having to offer anything on his own and Ginny's only interest is to marry the Boy-Who-Lived. We'll see about that. She certainly won't lay her paws on Harry, because that's not what she wants anyway.

Halfway along the trip the door slides open again, but this time it's the pale blond boy whom we met at Madam Malkin's. He seems to have a permanent sneer planted on his face.

"Someone said that Harry Potter is supposed to be here..."

"That would be me," Harry replies calmly.

"Ah! I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. These are my friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. I thought I'd give you hand in the wizarding world, you would need it after all... You need to have the right friends."

"You think so? Right friends? Gormless muscle without brains? Thanks, Malfoy, I know who my friends are and you, sadly, won't ever belong to them, unless you learn to use the bit of brain you do have. Inbreeding is not something to be proud of. Granted, it's not your fault that your parents thought it didn't matter to marry cousins, but if you're not ready to change that attitude of yours you stand zero chance coming closer to me than you stand now. Goodbye!"

"Just don't think you get away with that arrogance, Potter, my cousin is the Transfiguration teacher and he'll not let anyone insult his heir!"

"Just leave, Malfoy, I'm not afraid of the Transfiguration teacher."

Harry surprises Malfoy by shoving him out with a wordless spell, closing the door at the same time and locking it. There's nothing left for the brainless body mass but to leave.

"I can't believe he's got the same bodyguards! But that he has to use Sirius as his scarecrow is really funny! Doesn't the git know that Padfoot's my godfather?"

"He obviously knows no more than that Sirius is the Head of the Black family and the Transfiguration teacher. But the best thing is that he thinks he's the heir of the Black family."

"Looks like it. He'll probably be brought down to earth soon enough. I wonder how the Slytherin Potions teacher is going to be. Can't be any worse than Snape, I don't think Aunt Minnie would accept anything like that git into the school."

"I can't imagine she would."

It's already about four in the afternoon when we finally reach our destination. It's already getting dark as we leave the train, reluctantly leaving our pets behind. House-elves are taking the luggage and the pets to Hogwarts and place them in the respective dorms as soon as the Sorting is over. I can't wait for school to start!

(Harry)

As we walk into the Great Hall I wish I could see inside the heads of my new year-mates. Ron has found his way to some other first year boys. But it doesn't seem like they're already friends as he's standing almost alone. On the other end there are Malfoy and his goons. Between them and us are about forty children who look around just as amazed as we do. What's interesting is that Parvati and Padma are standing with Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davies. Millicent Bulstrode is completely alone. Poor girl.

We did not go to Hogwarts at all after the destruction of the Horcruxes. We didn't want to spoil the experience for my friends. It's part of the charm of Hogwarts that children who come there are impressed and wish to explore the castle. It's immensely big and it's sometimes easy to get lost. This time, Hermione won't go on an ill-intended house-elf rights campaign. She'll know better about the life situations of elves and what they need and want. This time she'll know that the campaign needed to be directed at the wizards, not at the house-elves. Also, this time she won't encounter that horrible troll, because she'll have loads of friends and will be able to stand up to Ron. And we will actually have much more fun!

So, Hermione and her siblings, Neville and Luna are all deeply impressed when they look up at the magnificent ceiling in the Great Hall and the thousands of candles floating in mid-air. I've almost been taken aback that it wasn't Professor McGonagall who greeted us at the door, but her new Deputy Headmistress, Professor Septima Vector.

We are lined up in front of the teachers' table. I'm amazed, because there are twice as many people sat at that table than I expected. Padfoot and Moony sit on the right side, next to Poppy Pomfrey and Filius Flitwick. It's a bit strange to see Professor McGonagall where Dumbledore used to sit, though the throne like chair has gone and has been replaced with a chair just like the others, the only difference is that it has a bit of a higher back than the other chairs to signal the seat of the headmistress. Professor Vector winks at us and puts her finger on her mouth to tell us to be quiet. Then she turns around to look at the Sorting Hat, which sits jauntily on the little three-legged stool. The rip in the brim opens and the same song I've already heard once, leaves its 'mouth':

_Oh you may not think me pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the __Hogwa__rts__ Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.__Gryffin__dor__,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set __Gryf__findor__s apart;  
You might belong in __Huffle__puff__,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient __Huffl__epu__ff__s are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old __Ravenclaw__,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in __Slytherin__  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends._

You might belong in

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

After that the Sorting takes place with hardly any surprises. Only Millicent is placed in Hufflepuff, not in Slytherin. Good for her! Adrian is the first of our group to go and he gives me a thumbs-up sign as he moves to the stool. The debate between Adrian and the Hat doesn't take long, before the Hat calls: "GRYFFINDOR", and Adrian scarpers to the table. A warm welcome for the third member of this year's Gryffindor team after Lavender and Seamus. It's going to be tight in our dorm with six boys!

Hermione is next. This time it takes a bit longer, but the Hat sends my sweetheart to the house she belongs! She sits down next to her brother and turns to see what happens to her sister.

"Granger Imogen," Vector reads.

Imogen gives me a cheerful smile and walks over to the stool. Vector places the Hat on her head and she hasn't even let it go yet when it shouts: "GRYFFINDOR!"

Vector just pulls the Hat up and grins as Imogen continues to sit next to her siblings. I look over to the table and notice that the Weasley twins approach the three and start talking with them, Hermione seems to explain that they're not triplets, but that Imogen and Adrian are twins. They do get that question very often!

That's three of us down, now we wait for Neville, who is next to me and gets more nervous by the minute.

"No worries, Neville! Just go and demand!"

"I do belong there, don't I?"

"Yes, you do!" Luna and I reply at once.

"Good."

With that Neville joins up with Professor Vector, sits down and awaits the Hat's verdict. Yes! He goes to Gryffindor.

"Just the two of us now, Harry. Wish me luck! The Hat might want to send me to Ravenclaw after all!"

"Only if it must, Luna. You wouldn't lose us as friends, but you deserve to live in a friendly surrounding!"

"Thank you, Harry!"

She dances to be Sorted. If it weren't for Hermione this girl would capture my heart! As it is she's done it, too, but as a sister! If Mum ever has a girl I want her to turn out somewhat like Luna, because I would trust this young lady with my life!

My contemplating has almost led to me missing the Hat's decision. I can just see her sitting down next to Imogen. I smile and look back to Sirius and Remus who both look very happy. I give them a wink and they grin. Sirius is certainly happy to have us all in his house.

"Potter, Harry," I hear Vector call.

A tiny bit of panic sets in – and vanishes as soon as I feel the Hat on my head.

"Oooooh! Look who's coming. I can see inside of your head that you have done this all before, haven't you?"

"I have. Hello! As you can see I have you to thank for bringing me Gryffindor's sword once."

"I can see that, dear boy. Makes my decision much easier this time, because believe you me you do not have one single fibre of Slytherin in you. Even your ambition does not mean you'd be suited for that house."

"I thought so. The difference of being at ease versus being on the verge of collapsing if I don't achieve probably, isn't it?"

"Well spotted, young Gryffindor. Is everything as it has been for your first time?"

"Apart from the Granger twins, who weren't there at all, Millicent Bulstrode going to Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin and Luna Lovegood, who went to Ravenclaw all is the same so far."

"I see. Now you shouldn't wait any longer before you join your friends at GRYFFINDOR! Come see me any time to exchange some thoughts about your experience."

I pull the Hat from my head and walk over to the familiar table, where a raucous crowd around the Weasley twins is now chanting:

"We got Potter! We got Potter!"

I can see that my friends are already chanting along. As I take my place between Hermione and Neville I feel a huge mountain falling from my heart. I introduce myself to Lavender, Seamus and Parvati, then I get to meet Fred and George and their friends as well as some second years. I don't feel any of the anxiety that plagued me back then, because two years of pampering by my family have done their part in getting me on track!

Dean Thomas joins us at the table a while later. Remembering his fate I vow to get closer to him this time, too. And then a light goes up in my head – Ron had me so well under his thumb that I never even tried to make any other close friends but him. I got along with people, but I never got close, except for Hermione. So I vow right here and now that I will be much more open and welcoming to more friends!

"Weasley, Ronald!"

The lanky boy stumbles to the Hat. He really is a klutz now! The Hat is lowered on his red head and then it takes a long time, but finally:

"SLYTHERIN!"

Three Weasleys at my table jump up, one in absolute indignation, two who look rather gleeful.

"No Weasley has ever been Sorted to Slytherin," Percy screams.

"Oh, he's got what he deserves," Fred whispers to George.

I turn to look at Hermione. She looks as consternated as I feel, but I can't say I'm sad. Vector pulls the Hat from Ron's head and he stands up, staggering, and stumbles on to the table at the other end of the room.

"What do you think?" Hermione asks me in a low voice.

"It's either going to be a very lonely time for Ron or he becomes the same as the other Slytherns."

"Did you expect that?"

"No. The Hat must have considered his calculating trait as ambition. I remember what he saw in that blasted Mirror of Erised, himself as Quidditch captain and Head Boy, and that would mean he does have ambition. To beat all of his older brothers takes a lot of it, anyway. Though with his work ethic I doubt he will get anywhere near that ambitious goal. Luckily Snape isn't here, so he might at least have better chances down there with the new head of house."

"Well, nothing to regret from our side. He won't be rifling through your trunk this time."

"And he won't snore in my room the whole time this time either," I reply, grinning.

"Very true."

I look around the other first years. Yes, there aren't any major changes. We do get another girl, Veronica Williams, a cute little black girl. I can't remember any girl by that name. That means my class is considerably larger this time, with five boys and six girls. It's still interesting, that there are a number of things that are completely different, even though I haven't changed them. Did the original Hermione have siblings or not? If yes, what happened to them? If no, why does she have them now? I only went back to my own time, didn't I? Or, have I not only gone back in time, but maybe into a completely different time-line? And if that was the case why is everything else exactly the same? Questions for a philosopher, I suppose. I'm not going to bother asking more than the questions in my head and keeping them in mind. Nothing can be done about it now, anyway.

Now I finally have time to seek eye contact with Padfoot and Moony. They both give me the thumbs up, which I return. Not that we ever doubted my placement in Gryffindor. I knew that I could ask for the house.

The feast is served and of course every new student in the room looks twice at the wonderful array of food that's appearing on the tables. I dare to peek over to the Slytherin table. Ron sits there amongst the other first years and as I watch in wonder at the food-destroying machine that's Ron Weasley, I realise what a horror he looks like when he eats. I shudder and I'm so glad he's not at our table. To think he was my friend still makes me shudder. With him out of the picture I have the chance to make more good friends and start in my own year as well as the year above mine. I think that I'm self-confident enough this time to find out who wants to befriend me for being the Boy-who-lived or who wants to be my friend. I'll be able to tell those off who belong to the fan category and show them that the real thing is nothing glamorous at all.

After the feast Professor McGonagall has a few words:

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Those of you who are returning will have noticed with some stupefaction that the number of teachers has almost doubled. This is due to the fact that from now on all classes are taught to all four years together. To guarantee the upkeep of the quality of our education there will be a teacher and an assistant teacher in any and all classes. Assistant teachers are there to support the main teacher, especially in the practical portions of the classes. All assistant teachers have the same powers to distribute or deduct points and to assign detentions."

I smile. That's a nice change. Aunt Minnie then introduces a new teacher for Potions, Transfigurations, Herbology, Charms, Defence, and Care of Magical Creatures. She also introduces new specialist teachers for subjects of arts, crafts and music. Now there's a new notion! They must have worked a lot of overtime in the past year since Dumbledore's 'retirement' to have come up with so many good ideas. Remus and Sirius never said a word about any of this! Methinks the Marauders have become mystery-mongers!

"Since these arts classes are a new programme you have not been able to sign up beforehand, as such you can decide if you'd like to take part in up to two different art disciplines within the next month. Please refer to your head of house for your registration. You will get information material with your timetables tomorrow morning.

"And that basically concludes my administrational information. I have another – and very important – thing. In the past decades we have continuously announced that no fighting, especially wand fighting, in the halls will be tolerated, but slacked in prosecution of these fights. I have therefore decided that there will be a no tolerance policy. If fighting occurs we will punish and punish severely after thorough investigation. Not only will those who were caught be questioned, but also those who stood around without interfering to stop the fight. Rest assured that not only the ones who react to provocation will be punished but also the provocateurs. I wish for Hogwarts to be a school, not a battleground.

"The last thing that needs to be said is that the third floor corridor to the right will be off limits for the entire student body. We have our reasons for this; therefore I ask that you will keep out of the area. It is not a corridor on used paths with used classrooms and normally you don't need to go there anyway. Don't start now that it is forbidden, because you would be meeting your death if you did go! As you know me well enough, you will also know that this isn't an empty threat.

"That said, let's end this feast with a happy tune and sing the school song before you march off to your common rooms! Pick your favourite melody!"

I grin. I'm amazed, too, because I know that many teachers are annoyed with the Hogwarts school song, because it means absolute Chaos. Everyone sings the same text, which McGonagall writes in the air with her wand, but everyone chooses their favourite melody to sing it. That makes for a very cheerful chaos, which I love! The Weasley twins are the slowest again, singing their slow funeral march.

Percy stands erect and calls for us first years. I don't like the prick much more than Ron and I won't have his pompous behaviour. If he directs it at me I'll put him in his place. The twins do so as well, which doesn't astonish me:

"Come on, Perce, you're a prefect, not a general. Be a bit nicer with the ickle firsties!" Fred tells his older brother off.

"Yeah, like: come on, ickle firsties, these are the shortcuts up to our common room. Of course you can take the long and official way, but that takes ages and is extra complicated..." George adds, directed at us.

Most of us snicker, even Hermione. I'm glad that she won't be as stuck up as she was the first time around. She will love all the fun parts of Hogwarts just as she enjoys the serious learning!

"Shut up, George. It's the path they have to follow and that's the rule..." Percy growls.

"Show me your rule and I'll shut up. You just want to appear more important than you are and we won't have you corrupt them, especially since we have Harry onboard. Remember: he's the son of a Marauder! And the nephew of two Marauders who happen to be members of our esteemed faculty," Fred says with dancing eyes.

Percy keeps growling, but I think it's time to remind him of his job:

"Well then, Mr. Perfect, errr, Prefect, would you kindly show us the way to our abode?"

George and Fred roar with laughter. George pats me on my shoulder and says:

"Now there's a good start, Harry! Keep that up and I'm sure you'll be awarded points by your uncles."

"They are teachers, George! Now go away and do whatever it is you're normally doing. First years, come along!"

The twins laugh and turn away, but I hear Fred whisper:

"Wonder what made the Hat put Ron in Slytherin! I don't want to miss the post owls tomorrow morning, I bet, Percy will be writing Mum tonight, and I bet Ron definitely won't!"

I'd love to follow them rather than Percy. If Ron finds himself in Slytherin now he should have gone there in the first place. Or is it courage to display his disgusting sycophant behaviour when the rest of his family practically oozes guts? 'Cause Ron's not a coward, that I know. On the other hand Snape wasn't either – being as successful as he was among the Death Eaters when everyone knew he was actually a half-blood meant he had to have a good amount of guts.

Percy does lead us the whole long and complicated way up to Gryffindor Tower. Dean moans:

"How on earth are we supposed to remember all of this?"

"By using the shortcuts, Dean. We'll ask Fred and George, they'll show us the easier ways," Neville replies.

"Good idea. Who's this one here, anyway?"

"Someone who should think a bit more on his own than only quote the rule books," I remark.

"I used to do that, Harry," Hermione reminds me.

"Yeah, but we have quite successfully cured you of that, haven't we?" I smirk.

"Yep. I'm glad you did, it's more fun to keep on learning and still have fun. Thanks, Marauders! And thanks, because that probably means I won't make a fool of myself in front of the others."

Isn't she just great?

Our sessions in the library will be so much fun! She's a fantastic researcher and has an immense discipline when she's actually cramming, but she doesn't solely rely on that anymore. The six of us have learned to toss around ideas and theories and then going about finding answers and more ideas if we had to solve any problem. We function as a team. The Gryffindors won't know what hit them once we get going. The difference in this Hermione is probably that she has done that with her siblings from the start. My other Hermione was living in the ivory tower of learning because she had spent her childhood alone. She was isolated and lonely and the books were her only friends. I can see how that makes a person stiff and hard to come out of the shell. It was her defence mechanism. As she has her siblings she's not been quite as isolated and could already exchange herself with them. Gryffindor will get points over points from us!

Since we've had such great tutoring we're all far ahead in our studies, I'm sure we could have skipped the first year, but instead we'll enjoy an easy time. As such we'll concentrate on our non-school related 'project', which won't be fun, but which needs to be taken care of. We have destroyed all the Horcruxes apart from Nagini, the snake. Dumbledore believed that Voldemort made her a Horcrux only after he came back, which means that at the moment she's nothing but a snake. Should that not be the case he could come back, but that's not such a great problem either. He still wouldn't know that his Horcruxes are gone. We'll also be spared the Basilisk horror from my original second year. I'll guide a team down to the chamber and we'll have a couple of roosters with us that will be forced to crow until the Basilisk is dead.

Once that's done no one will ever go down there anymore unless my children inherit my Parseltongue ability one day.

While I'm thinking about all of these things I feel Hermione's elbow in my ribs. We've finally reached the portrait entrance of our house!

"This is the Fat Lady. If you wish to enter the tower you have to give her the password. No password, no entrance. Passwords are changed on an irregular basis and the new one will be announced on the notice board in the common room, so do check that regularly. You are not allowed to give the password to members of the other houses, members of the other houses are not allowed entrance. The current password is _Caput Draconis_."

The last words he says to the Fat Lady. The portrait swings outward and we can clamber inside of the common room through an oval opening. Oh, how good it is to be back and enjoy the warm familiarity of this place! Not for a moment did I consider another house, this really is my place.

"You are happy to be back, aren't you?" Hermione whispers into my ears.

"You bet I am! It's wonderful – and frankly, I'm relieved Ron's not in our house."

"Since I only know him from your tales and memories I have to trust you on that. But he didn't seem to be too pleasant a character. I've had enough to see him bicker with me in your memories."

Percy speaks up again:

"This is the house common room. The purpose should be self-explanatory. The staircases lead to the dorms, girls up here and boys up there. Boys cannot go up to the girls' dorms. You will find your dorms right at the top of the stairs. Each year you'll come down one floor. You will find your trunks in the dorm and your pets as long as it's not an owl. Owls are up in the Owlery. They are, however, allowed to come here at any time. There's space for your trunks at the foot of the bed you choose."

Are you done yet? Good – let's go.

"Good night, ladies! We're up to our dorm to get settled in."

"Good night! When do we meet up for breakfast?" Imogen asks.

"When we manage to wake Neville," Adrian quips.

"Seriously! I think we'll have to count in the fact that we don't know what classes we have first and maybe go to breakfast a bit earlier than we would otherwise. How about half past seven?"

"Okay, fair enough," Neville agrees.

"Yes, that's fine. I know that I definitely don't want to walk up all those stairs an extra time every morning, fourteen floors is a long way. Will keep us fit, too," I say.

We wish everyone good night and go up the stairs until we reach the dorm with the First Years sign. Seamus opens the door and grins. Inside the large round room are our five four posters, nice and wide and cosy! A stack of trunks is in the middle of the room as are the cat carriers, which are empty, because the house-elves have let out the cats within. In our dorm that's Seamus' and Neville's. No Trevor to look for in this time-line, yoo hoo! Neville's lovely dark brown Siberian cat Balena has already chosen a bed next to a window. Neville therefore pushes his trunk to the foot of that bed, I take the next bed and Adrian the next, leaving the last two to Dean and Seamus.

One part of the room is partitioned off for the bathroom. Along that straight wall we find a number of wardrobes where we can put our clothes. I postpone that part to tomorrow and just fish a pyjama out of the trunk. A quick hop to the bath once I'm changed and then it's off to bed! It has been a long day and while there might be a 35 year old inside of me, physically I'm still a child and that child needs sleep.

**A/N: **I'm not yet sure what to do with Ron. Should he become isolated, accept the Slytherin standards, friends with any of the boys in the house apart from Malfoy or even Malfoy? Should I have him go over the edge and become a bit like Snape, embittered? Or should this be the wake-up call he needs to pull the finger out of his behind, as we call this here in Switzerland?

I will gladly take any suggestions and try to incorporate them


	7. First Classes

A/N: I have been thinking long and hard about this chapter - there were some well-meant and good inputs in the reviews that I considered and some good questions. Some of them I haven't answered yet, but they're not forgotten and they can still wait :-)

Thanks for all the reviews and ideas, they're often helpful and good discussion points, too. Someone wondered about the Harry in this story and criticised that it was never clear what exactly he is. Here's my own thought about that:

I have created a 35+ years old Harry who returns into his 8 years old self. He brings with him the memories and knowledge, which he still uses and is able to use rationally. He is an intelligent, mature young man in the body of an eight years old boy. When I write his point of view, which will be more prominent and frequent from on this chapter you get the mature Harry's thinking.

I part from the idea that since Harry is a very intelligent young man who has been deprived of a peaceful childhood and positive learning experiences he is now able to combine his mature self with a more playful and happy child and simply enjoy a time of peace. Nevertheless he stays a mature observer and has his thoughts about what he sees. These are the things you will see when his POV comes up.

A solution for Ron has been found :-) It's not fleshed out yet, but it will come through.

**Chapter 7 – First Classes**

**Hogwarts**, **02.09.1991**

(Hermione)

Harry hasn't promised too much! These four posters are heavenly! Queen sized beds in a school dorm, what luxury! But I have to admit that I'm ready to take it.

The alarm has gone off at six thirty. Imogen and I are up in a minute, Luna takes a bit longer and Parvati follows quickly after that, but Lavender is hard to get out of bed. Veronica is the only one who was quicker than Imogen and I.

I shrug my shoulders and go back to the bathroom. It's nice and spacious, with a large shower and five showerheads. There are three toilet stalls and a long sink with five taps. I wonder what happens when there are more than six students, as the room certainly won't hold more than six such big beds. I suppose that's when the magic of this place comes to play though I suspect that there are already loads of enlargement charms on our room, because I can't imagine that it could be such a spacious tower. I have to ask Professor Flitwick about it once.

Our beds are great, not only wide, but they are equipped with deep red velvet drapes, which hold the warmth inside. I expect it will be quite cold up here in winter, but apart from the drapes we also have a fireplace where there's already a fresh fire burning this morning. The flagstone floor is amazingly warm, too. I throw off my pyjama and run to the bathroom, where a big stack of fluffy towels awaits me after the shower. My hair fixed in a messy bun on top of my head I quickly wash myself, and then I wrap a towel around my body. I've already set up my bathroom stuff last night, so it's just a brush of my teeth and washing my hands and I'm ready to get dressed. That done I look around and find that my sister and Luna have almost finished their morning routine as well.

"You three seem to be familiar with each other?" Lavender asks, still in bed, yawning.

"We are. We've been home schooled together for two years," I reply.

"Oh. That sounds nice."

"It is. Are you a Muggle-born, too?"

"No, my father is though. We live in a Muggle neighbourhood. Mum's a witch from a mixed-blood family as well. You are a Muggle-born then?"

"Yes, but I've known about magic for just over two years. That was when I met Harry and his family and since Imogen and Adrian are just a year younger than I am, we were all taught together. All three of us had great problems at the Muggle school we first went. It's really tough when things happen to you all over the place and you have no idea what causes them. My mum and dad are dentists."

"So you live in both worlds?"

"Pretty much. I like it that way, too."

"Yes, I also like that. I went to Muggle primary school."

"Didn't you have problems being a witch?"

"Not really. Since I knew about being magical I knew how to hide it, too. So you had problems?"

"Things just kept happening and the more we got upset about them the more they happened. Then the other kids picked up on it and since I was a bit of a teachers' pet they made my life pure hell. The three of us have been very interested in learning lots and have quick minds, which has caused us loads of problems, too. Imogen and Adrian always had each other to support, but I've often been very much alone. I hope my social skills have become much better since then."

"You seem to be doing fine now."

"Thanks. I'll try not to be too stiff upper lip and all."

She grins. I wonder how this different start of my relationship with Lavender and Parvati turns out.

Imogen and Luna are ready to go down to breakfast. Lavender finally gets up and follows Parvati to the bathroom. I wonder how it must have been for the Hermione in Harry's first life, he said she didn't make friends with her dorm mates for a long time. I think I'll be able to make friends with both, Lavender and Parvati. Lavender is quite knowledgeable, while Parvati is definitely still more a little girl. But probably the cutest girl in all of Hogwarts.

We're going down together to meet the boys. There's already quite a lot going on in the common room. Others seem to have calculated the extra time to fetch school materials after receiving the timetables as well. Harry is already there and waits for Adrian to force Neville out of bed. We've had a few laughs in the past years on Neville's cost. He does love his comforts. It's so hard to get him out of bed! The boys have become pretty inventive to achieve that. They have decided to share the responsibility of waking our friend and one will do one week, the other the next. Adrian softly pushes Neville in front of him and wishes us a good morning. Thanks to Harry's knowledge of the castle, we find our way down to the Great Hall easily.

Of course, it's normal crockery and cutlery now, but even that looks impressive! We eat from beautiful Wedgwood porcelain and next to the plates is wonderful silver cutlery. We drink from the same lovely porcelain cups and silver goblets. A choice of chilled fruit juices is placed on the table and there's bread, toast, fried eggs with bacon, tomatoes and potatoes, there's fresh butter and jam, honey and cereals. This is as good as any first class hotel!

We sit down, Adrian between Imogen and Luna on one side, myself between Neville and Harry on the opposite side. Veronica, Lavender and Parvati sit next to Harry and Dean and Seamus go to their other side. An arrangement that comes almost naturally. I help myself to some cornflakes with milk and sugar first, and then move on to the eggs and finally I top it all with a buttered toast with orange marmalade. Yum! I love breakfasts.

Halfway through breakfast Sirius shows up. He has a stack of parchments on his arm.

"Good morning, kids! Have you slept well?"

"Great, thanks, Siri. It's good to be up there..." Harry says without thinking.

The others stare at his familiar way of addressing our head of house. But Sirius hardly reacts on that. He knows that Harry meant to say 'up there again' and gives him a fond glance.

"Excellent."

Other students greet Sirius with his first name and our new housemates relax. It seems that Sirius wants that, which I think is great. He gives Neville, who's nearest to him the stack of parchments meant for us and explains it to us:

"Here are your timetables... spread them along, please, Neville. It's quite all right for you to call me by my first name. I'm Sirius and I'll also listen to Padfoot. If you insist you may call me Professor Black, too, but that reminds me a bit too strongly of my great-great-grandfather who was Hogwarts' worst ever Headmaster, so I do not take it as a complement. If you ever have something you would like to discuss you're welcome at my office, which is near the transfiguration classroom, I'm usually there between four and five in the afternoon. Neville is just handing you not only your timetable, but also the information material mentioned in Professor McGonagall's speech yesterday, and a little map of Hogwarts, which will help you to find your way a bit easier. If you do choose any arts classes you'll have to add those to your timetables yourself. I'll see you all later in class! Have a great first day here at school!"

"Thanks, Sirius!" we all chorus.

So that's how he is here. Just as he's at home then. Great! I wonder if Remus is as laid back as Sirius. I take my information material from Neville and look at the timetable first. We have double Transfiguration to start! Great. Then double Potions and after lunch, we have double Herbology. Looks like all of our classes are double periods, because tomorrow we'll have double Defence, double Transfiguration again and double Charms after lunch. Wednesday afternoon is free, but in the morning we have double Herbology and double History, double Astronomy at eleven in the evening. Thursday morning two free periods, then double Potions and double Charms after lunch. On Friday we have another double period of Defence and a double period of Magical Theory. Two free afternoons! That's great. Time to go flying, for extra studies and arts classes. I will certainly continue with my piano lessons. And maybe take up painting.

Once more the breakfast is interrupted, when there's an incoming mass of owls, delivering the mail. I get the Chronicle, a new newspaper, which I keep rolled up to peruse later in the afternoon. A tottering old owl drops into the headmistress' breakfast. She pulls it away and rescues the blood red envelope it's carrying and calmly points her wand to the letter to open it.

"Oi! Mum's written her howler to McGonagall!" One of the twins shouts.

And the next moment the Great Hall almost shatters under the noise of a screeching voice. Fred and George cover their ears and one of them tells us:

"Mum's howlers are legendary! We've received at least seven of them since we're here."

"Minerva McGonagall! How on earth could you allow the Sorting Hat to send one of MY children to this most abominable of abominable places within Hogwarts! Ronald is NO dark wizard and has nothing lost there! He will be resorted or I take him out of this so-called school! How this could happen is a mystery to me! If Albus was still there it would not have come to pass, he always saw to it that my children went to the correct house!"

McGonagall immediately looks over and wonders whether Percy has been Sorted correctly. She doesn't even glance at the twins she knows they're where they belong.

The letter then jumps out of Aunt Minnie's hands and burns itself. A small shower of ash falls on the table. McGonagall gets up and leaves the hall, presumably to tell the Weasley matriarch that even if her husband was now the Minister his children would be Sorted according to the Sorting Hat's wishes and not according to the parents' manipulations of the respective headperson.

The rest of the material I'm going to study during the lunch break. We go back up to our dorm and fetch our books for Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology. We look on the map and find our way to the Transfiguration classroom. It's right next to the History classroom. Hm, I wonder why? Remus is already in his classroom, waiting for his students, but as the door is open we greet him. He looks up and smiles.

"Good morning! Hope you have a great first day!"

"Thanks, Moony!"

We look at the many tables in the Transfiguration classroom and choose the front corner by the door. Sirius comes in just minutes later and beams when he sees us.

"I love firsties! So much fun with you little guys," he says.

Funny enough that he treats us like adults rather than kids. I look forward to see how he treats the other kids. We take out our books and parchment for notes and writing supplies. I notice quickly that there are mostly quills coming out, but the lot of us prefers to write with regular pens or pencils. I have a retractable fine lining pencil, which I love and will use that for the notes. I suppose simply from looking at the others and what means of writing they use we'll know who comes from Muggle or mixed families and who is a pureblood. I think it's nice to use a quill for something that's supposed to look special, but I don't fancy writing with one every day.

The other students file into the room. We're more than forty in this classroom. I think that's a huge class, but once the assistant teacher arrives as well I can see how this is going to work. Already the tables aren't set up in a straight line, but in groups, so that there are always eight students at any one group of tables, which are scattered in the large room.

(Harry)

I can't believe how different this classroom looks! Who has given them an idea of how a modern classroom in any Muggle school looks? It's still the same location, but the room looks SO different! It's light because there are little lamps hung up, which look suspiciously like halogen lamps. I look around my fellow students and especially seek out the ones of whom I know they come from pureblood families. They're all still used to candlelight; most of them are almost taken aback at the brightness of this light.

The Slytherins come in and look astonished that this classroom looks so unlike anything they expected. They take up position at a table in the back of the room, but they don't all fit at one table, so some of them are shooed to another. Ron is among the small group. Slytherin has received nine new students, six boys and three girls. There seems to be the core group that I know from my first life, consisting of Pansy, Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe, Nott and Zabini. Tracey and Daphne were always a pair on their own and as far as I remember they intermingled very little with the others. They sit down at the table next to us where four Hufflepuffs already sit. Ron sits down alone at the table next to the Slytherins. The git doesn't want to befriend them, it seems. The git wanted to drop dead this morning in the Great Hall. I'll tell the twins to tell him that it's not only allowed to seek friends in other houses, but that it is encouraged by Aunt Minnie. She doesn't allow visits inside the other houses, but meeting outside in the many areas of the castle that aren't classrooms or offices is of course allowed.

Well, let's forget him for the moment and turn to the actual lecture. Siri starts it with general information:

"Before we start our school year I'd like to lay down the ground rules in this classroom. My colleague, Professor Charity Miller, and I will jointly teach you. Generally it's me who lectures, but there will be times when Charity takes over. I have a reputation of being very laid back and easygoing, but let me tell you that this does not mean you get carte blanche to behave any way you like. I am the authority figure in here and what I say goes. Anyone not sticking to the basic rules of propriety and safety will be out of here and never come back. Every one of you will do your utmost to work together with the others. For that reason, I ask the lone student over there in the corner to come forth and sit down at one of the other tables. There are still free spaces on this table here and the one over there!"

Sirius waits until Ron has picked up his stuff and moves to the table where Daphne and Tracey sit with some of the Hufflepuffs.

"That's better. I think we can take that group of tables away, Charity."

Professor Miller reduces the tables in size and summons them. Sirius resumes by calling the roll. Every student gets a little name card to set up before them.

"I just give you these until we have memorised all of you. Takes a few days, I guess. You can take them with you and use them in your other classes, my colleagues are in the same situation as my partner and I. Now then, let's start our work. I'm afraid it will have to be a bit of a lecture at first, because we have to cover some ground before you can become active and start transfiguring things. And that's a remark you'll probably hear a good number of times today and in the next days. We must begin somewhere."

Sirius lectures about the first transfiguration techniques we will learn, which will be things of a similar shape to other things of similar shape. We're starting with standard transfigurations where a defined object is transfigured into a defined other object and for which there are fixed spells. These are really the basics. I'm not the Transfiguration star my father is, that's for sure, but with Sirius it's much easier to learn than with Aunt Minnie, I have to say! Sirius does lecture, there's no way around it, but his method to do that is much funnier than Aunt Minnie's.

He's also no-nonsense. Right in this first lesson Malfoy tries to use his relationship with Sirius. There's a short break between the two periods and Malfoy approaches Sirius. Since we're sitting in close proximity, we get a firsthand view on the idiot's introduction with reality:

"Professor Black, may I impart my guardian's best wishes? She told me to introduce myself to you as soon as I had the opportunity..."

Sirius frowns and looks over to the table where the Slytherins sit. As there are several seats open now he turns to Malfoy and asks (I'm sure he knows exactly):

"What is your name again?"

"Malfoy, Sir, Draco Malfoy. My guardian is your great-aunt Cassiopeia..."

"Good old Cassie – the dragon of the family. Still don't know how dear Dorea could be a sister to that horror... just so you know, Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, that is not a particularly good reference. She took over your guardianship just before I took on the family head, which is why I couldn't prevent it. Otherwise you'd have been properly brought up by your aunt Andromeda. Cassie actually asked you to introduce yourself to me? Not a good move. You should know that I have disinherited the remaining family apart from the Tonks'."

Malfoy blanches visibly and wants to get away now, but Sirius holds him back:

"Since you prefer to follow that stuffy family tradition of formality I must warn you formally that none of the Black arrogance will be tolerated in my classroom. I hear one mentioning of my name in a suspicious way – like dropping it to get out of a punishment or something – and you'll find out the extent of my contempt with the remaining Black family members; thus you might find your punishment doubled. I'd never throw in the names of your parents or hold them against you, but if you display any of their arrogance towards students or teachers of non-magical descent or non-pureblood relation you will see so many detentions that you never get out of them. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Oh, and just in case you missed it – I'm head of Gryffindor house..."

The little blonde ponce scarpers and is only back when the next lesson starts. Sirius looks at us and grins. He simply comments Malfoy's behaviour with a shake of his head. What was Malfoy thinking? Since yesterday, he should have found out that Siri is the head of Gryffindor house.

At the end of the second period, we all move out of the classroom towards the Potions classroom. I know that this one is not where it was when I was here the first time. Hermione checks the map and we find our way there. Little blonde ponce has already forgotten about Sirius' lesson before and brags that Hogwarts really must come down if a former Slytherin has become the head of Gryffindor house. I stop him short:

"Sirius *was* a Gryffindor, Malfoy. On what planet have you lived until now? You should know that already, after all he didn't give secret testimonies in all those trials. And what you just said is exactly the kind of thing he warned you about before. Should I tell him what you said? Your manicured fingers could do well with a bit of cleaning the trophy room without magic, you know..."

"Don't even talk to me, half-blood!"

"Ah! Now I'm reduced to a half-blood. Yesterday on the train, you wanted to give me a hand and show me around... Such is the world, my friends, so fickle," I finish, turning to my friends.

With that, I enter the open classroom door to Potions. We are so lucky that Snape's gone from Hogwarts! The new teacher introduces herself and like Sirius, she calls roll. Professor Cecilia Prince is a former Slytherin, actually distantly related to Snape's maternal family, but she seems to be fine. After calling the roll, she introduces the materials we'll work with and starts with the basics, the hardware. We learn about properties of different metals or alloys used to make cauldrons and the significance of different metals and alloys used to make different ladles and knives.

"Snape never even said a word about that and he'd never answered a question..." I whisper to Hermione.

We both take notes about all of that. The metal lecture fills the first period; the second is about the base liquids used in potion making. This is all general information we should have received and never did! Even though I've learned most of it in the meantime and have gained routine in brewing the odd potion I'm enjoying this lesson immensely. It's so informative and she even presents her information in an interesting way.

The last quarter of a period is used for any questions we have. What a great start! I shall greatly enjoy these classes, even if much of it is already known to us, me in particular, it's going to help me to get really good marks this time around.

Herbology in the afternoon passes pretty much the same way as I remember from last time. I pick up my bag and follow my friends out of the greenhouse to return to the castle.

(Remus)

At lunch Sirius beams. I know he's had the first years this morning, so I ask him how it went.

"Just brilliant, Moony! You already taught them for a good while, you should know how easy they are to teach!"

"Yep! Good fun, really. – James has tried to call me through the mirror, but I didn't answer – yet. Has Harry sent his owl?"

"I don't know. You'd best ask him, I'm sure that James will be back on the mirror very soon!"

Once we've eaten, we pass the Gryffindor table and ask Harry. He grins and shows us the letter.

"It'll be sent off right after Herbology..."

I read over Sirius' shoulders:

"Dear Mum and Dad, hi Bobby!

I'm sorry for not writing earlier, but last night I was too overwhelmed and tired and this morning there was quite a rush with first classes and all.

I'm Sorted into Slytherin. And unfortunately, I'm all alone, the others are all in Gryffindor. And I was so sure I could talk the Hat into sending me there, too. Well, at least the Dungeons are quite grand, if a little bit dark.

First classes were great, we had Sirius right to start. All four houses taught together, so at least I share classes with the others.

Will write again soon.

Love and Hugs

Harry"

The rest of the school population around us probably wonder why Sirius and I break out laughing like we do. He's done it really convincingly.

"Great, that sounds very convincing. Then I can actually answer the mirror call from James tonight," says Sirius and returns the single sheet of parchment to Harry.

"What have you done, Harry?" Neville asks.

"Written to my parents that I'm in Slytherin," Harry says and smirks.

"You didn't!" Hermione cries, scandalised. "You can't send that off, Harry!"

That sets us all off even more! I get tears in my eyes from laughing, but I hold it back while I tell her:

"Don't worry, Hermione, that's just a harmless little prank. James won't mind when he learns he's been pranked. He's a prankster himself, after all, in other words, if you mete out you have to be able to take in. That's an old Marauder adage, you know."

"Oh. Okay then."

"I'll make it worse for dear James, and will confirm it. He'll be jumping a few metres into the air!" Sirius says, mirth dancing in his eyes.

"It's good to know that the Marauders are back," I remark.

A few hours later, we're leaving our classrooms and go to dinner. On the way there, James tries to call Sirius again on his mirror. This time Sirius takes the call. We're speeding up so Harry can hear what his father has to say.

"Yes, James! You want to know where the kids are Sorted, I suppose..."

"Harry's written to me already! Please, Sirius, tell me it's not true that my child has been sent to those dungeons?"

"Sorry, James. Nothing to do, I'm afraid. You're not going to put him down for being in a house you don't like, will you?"

"No, of course not, but damnit, Sirius, SLYTHERIN! If not Gryffindor, couldn't it have been Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw?"

"Could. I suppose he could have gone anywhere..."

"Darn. Poor Harry. All alone down in the snake pit."

It seems that James is more sad than angry. What an amazing reaction. We have reached the Great Hall and Harry has heard his father. He looks up and says:

"I think we should put him out of this misery, Sirius. Poor Dad's completely down!"

Sirius grins.

"Want to tell him yourself?"

"Yes, why not?"

Harry takes the mirror and says:

"Hi Dad!"

"Harry! I'm so sorry for you..."

"Sorry, Dad, you've been had. 'Course I'm in Gryffindor, together with everyone else. Only Ron Weasley's been Sorted to Slytherin. His mother sent a howler to Aunt Minnie, seems like she didn't take it as graciously as you did. And that part is no joke."

"You pranked me! You pranked your poor old Dad? Harry! I'm scandalised."

"I'm not. I thought you'd be as hot-tempered as ever, but you reacted completely unexpected, Dad. Hats off! What did Mum say?"

"Nothing at all! Once she was sure I wasn't mad she never said anything."

"Give her my love."

"Will do, son. Can't believe you pranked me – and with the most obvious one on top of it! Just you wait for Christmas!"

"Yes, Dad. I love you, too!"

Funny how pranks sometimes take a completely different turn. Sirius takes the mirror back from Harry and James says:

"Should have known that you two jokers would play along. That means prank war when you get back; you know that, don't you?"

"We're warned then, James. Couldn't resist though – seeing your face on half-mast was well worth it. But now go and tell Lily. As tolerant as she is she'll still be glad he's up in bright Gryffindor tower and not in the dungeons. I'm happy to be their head of house."

James finds his laugh again and signs off. He's too good-natured to be mad for long. Holding grudges isn't his thing at all. Besides I'm sure he prefers to know he's been pranked than to have his beloved son down in the snake pit.

At dinner, Minerva asks us to join her in her office later on.

"Did you talk to Molly?" I ask.

"You bet, I did. I warned her to send any Howlers like that, she should know better than to complain about a correct Sorting. And I called her in for a meeting, together with Arthur, for later on. I would like if you could stay on for the meeting. Septima, Filius and Pomona will come in a moment, too. Molly may hand in a formal protest about the Sorting, but I will certainly not become active upon a Howler. Besides she should know better than writing something like that in a howler, but she never really lived up to the fact that Arthur is the Minister now."

"All you need to do is tell her that if my parents couldn't do anything when they wanted me resorted she would certainly be unsuccessful with it, too," Sirius reminds Minerva.

"That's right! I will use that argument at first, Sirius, thank you. Now, I really wanted you to be here when I talk to our old friend here, the Sorting Hat. I'd like to know if there was any truth in that titbit Molly spouted this morning regarding the Sorting of her other children."

Minerva picks the Sorting Hat from her desk and puts it on her head. She must have told it to speak aloud, so we could hear what it does have to say, because the Hat says:

"Very well, Minerva, I shall do so."

"Have you been influenced where to place certain students?"

"Occasionally I have been forced to do so, yes."

"Is Percy Weasley one of them?"

"Right in one. I was asked to put him in Gryffindor. Personally, I thought he was ambitious enough for three and would have done exceptionally well in Slytherin. But he might have turned out like Tom Riddle if he'd been in Slytherin."

"Which other students have you Sorted according to Albus Dumbledore's wishes?"

"Generally I must say that I have always looked for a house that would befit the students, and if there was no way a student fitted the house the former headmaster wished for me to call out I have not done as he wished."

"That's a relief…"

"… but there are a few who I have sent to their houses against my better knowledge."

"Any who are still attending Hogwarts, apart from Percy Weasley?"

"No."

"Very well then. Has the former headmaster talked to you about Harry Potter?"

"You bet he did, Minerva. But since the boy was good enough for any of the four houses I didn't have to follow his wish, I followed the student's. – Do you know that he's already come through here once? He is a time-traveller, Minerva."

"Yes, I did know. It is thanks to him that the former headmaster is now the former headmaster."

"Ah! Very well then. I take it that you will not belong to the headmasters who intrude with the Sorting?"

"Oh, certainly not. The only thing that I think would be important now is that we do take care of what students we send to Slytherin on a general basis. If the house is weakened in the next few years, we could probably purge it from the traditional Slytherin families. If at all possible I'd be relieved to see these children Sorted to other houses. It would allow the house to get a reprieve, and when students get Sorted there again after that, they will be sent there for the real reasons, not to throw everything together that becomes evil later on. In fact I'd be glad for the moment if as few students could be sent there as possible. We need to think about a relocation of the whole house, in spite of the wishes of the house's founder. After all it can't be healthy for their development to live in an area where there's no natural light at all."

"I shall see whether I can heed your wish, Minerva. It seems rather reasonable."

"Thank you, Sorting Hat."

We look at each other. Minerva nods and says:

"After all that it's probably for the best that Percy is in Gryffindor," Minerva says.

"As his head of house I'll keep him in check. He has to learn that the whole life doesn't consist of rules. They are set to get some order into the chaos that's human life, but sometimes we're also meant to question the boundaries, to move beyond them, though only so long as no criminal act results. I suppose Slytherins do that for a good part, because if they're real Slytherins they have the cunning to reach their goals and as they're supposed to be ambitioned, they would have fairly high goals. Testing the boundaries and trying to overcome some of the hindrances means that one grows beyond them and matures from the lessons they teach us. That's not a bad thing!"

Minerva laughs about Sirius' reasoning.

"Spoken like a true Marauder, Sirius. I'm still glad if only a handful of students think like that. You two must be the only teachers the Weasley twins respect."

"Children like Fred and George are usually bored out of their heads about the more scientific aspects of learning. They're very hands on and in fact, they are very gifted. They know exactly what they want to learn. I think they're like artisans they want to create things with their hands not stuff their brains with philosophical things. I've seen them research, Minerva, and believe me, they are very capable of research. I'm sure intellectually they're as capable as Bill and Percy. But they research to apply, not to write essays, and the level of their magical intuition is simply astounding if you're willing to look beyond their pranks and their essays," Sirius says.

"Yes, I think that's the two of them described to the dot on the letter I. But I hear they're just as interested in your subject, Remus, and there's not much that you can apply from what you teach them..."

I have to laugh, too.

"Maybe not, but I think they take my lessons as story time. They're quite interested, actually. I tend to have many debates in class after we've treated a certain event. I tell the students to put themselves in the mind-frame of the respective era and then start holding a political discussion, which I then lead. Fred and George are taking active part in those discussions, often choosing the role of a devil's advocate, or the Deus ex Machina, granted, and they ping-pong silly comments, but that adds to the discussions and often forces the other participants to think outside of the box to have some retorts at all. You should come play fly on the wall sometimes, I'm sure you'd be quite entertained."

The boss smiles. Not so surprisingly, she agrees:

"I think that's a good thing. In Binns' classes, they only slept. I didn't need to see that to know because I've done the same thing when I was a student. Even Dumbledore has done it when he was a student and Binns was still alive and kicking when Dumbledore was at Hogwarts. Passing your classroom during class time it's sometimes quite loud, but I'm sure the students take home much better knowledge of the subject. By the way, I've been really amazed that both twins took Ancient Runes and Arithmancy as their selected subjects. Both mean more work than the three other electives."

"They came to me and asked me what they should take, Minerva. I gave them the advice to take those two, because they would be able to create more of their own stuff with the knowledge of these two subjects. Told them what Moony and I did with the knowledge. I think they won't disappoint, even if both subjects are rather theoretical," Sirius explains.

That positively sets Minerva off laughing.

"Oh, that's priceless. And Molly was probably proud of the twins for being so responsible. Do I leave her in her ignorance? It's bliss after all, as they say."

At that moment there's a knock on the door and Septima Vector enters the room together with Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout. They're coming for the meeting with the Weasleys, who arrive only a few minutes later.

Minerva guides us to the small conference room, where we take a seat.

"Molly, Arthur, I have invited the heads of all four houses to this discussion. May I ask your opinion to your son's Sorting, Arthur? I am already quite well informed of your wife's thoughts of the matter."

"Minerva, I haven't had much time to even think about it, but I know Hogwarts is a school, which leans strongly on the light side of magic, therefore I do not oppose to the Sorting Hat's decision. I would assume that the Hat saw tendencies of ambition and cunning in Ron's head, which would be reason enough to place him in the house said to be the one for the ambitious."

"ARTHUR! How can you condone that? It's a place where the evil breeds! You-Know-Who was there! All the Death Eaters have been there! They BREED Death Eaters there!" Molly spouts.

"I beg your pardon, Madam Weasley! We do NOT breed Death Eaters in our house. I will admit that there were tendencies when I went to school myself, and it wasn't easy to stay out of it, but not even Snape trained future Death Eaters in Slytherin and You-Know-Who has been gone for a while. And I would resent that ALL Death Eaters were Slytherins. Some quite prominent ones were in the other houses. Furthermore, I have just taken over the position of the head of Slytherin house and believe you me, I intend to clean up what might be left of Snape's deeds in that house. Your son may not be happy, but if he doesn't withdraw himself from all the school has to offer he will fast make friends – within his house or outside of it," Septima interrupts.

"That's all there is to say, really, Molly. Ron will just have to live with it," Arthur says.

"But..."

Minerva has brought the Sorting Hat along and it interrupts:

"Molly Prewett, I have been ordered by Albus Dumbledore to sort all of your children to Gryffindor. With Albus Dumbledore gone from his position as the Hogwarts Headmaster I have been allowed to return to Sort all children, as I know they must be Sorted. Of your five older sons, only four have found their rightful place in Gryffindor. One I have been forced to Sort there against my better knowledge. The sixth went to the house that suits him best. He has not stated a wish to be Sorted to Gryffindor. Thus I sent him to the house that corresponds to his traits."

"I still want him re-Sorted!"

"I'm sorry, Molly. That is not done. Hogwarts has been here for over a Thousand years, and the Sorting Hat has been used since 989, and never in all those years was there a case of a re-Sorting recorded," Minerva insists, throwing a glance in my direction for confirmation.

"If I may throw in a word edgewise," says Sirius. "I was Sorted to Gryffindor when I came to Hogwarts. My parents did not agree with my placement either, so they tried to convince Dumbledore that I needed to be re-Sorted. If the great, ancient and most noble family of the Blacks couldn't get a re-Sorting, do you really believe you could get one?"

"Excuse me! Arthur is the Minister of Magic..."

"And that has nothing to do with the schooling of my children, Molly. You should finally learn to behave like the wife of the Minister. I'm very displeased with your lack of countenance. Please, Minerva, I don't want to interfere and Ron will simply have to learn to adjust. He's been very pampered and while we couldn't give our children much in material goods we always gave them what we could and we most prized our wonderful family. We have always belonged together and have supported each other with love, more than anything. In the past two years, we have been able to stock up on the material things, too, but I think it went into some family members' heads. This should give him all the means he needs to get through wherever he is placed at school."

"But, Arthur! You're not..."

"No, Molly, I will not even lodge a complaint. Over a year ago I have accepted the duty of my office with the ambition to stamp out corruption. I have replaced a corrupt government and have succeeded to do so. Do you really think that I would now use the power of my office for something as minor as the school house placement of my youngest son? No, I absolutely refuse to do this. Your idiotic Howler this morning has been duly noted by the press and they will watch my every step in this matter now. The Daily Prophet would have a field day, and rightly so, if I decided to do anything about it. You had to run off at the mouth and publicly admonish Minerva with your Howler. Did you not think that the whole school heard your opinion? Did you not think that there would be enough children who would write home about it immediately? This is definitely the drop that lets the water run over the barrel's edge, Molly. One more and I'll have to disown you and seek divorce."

"You wouldn't dare...." she now growls.

"Yes, I would. Thanks to your actions of this morning I will have a date tomorrow morning for a public statement about the matter! Had you not been so stupid we might have been able to do something. Thanks to your stupidity and misplaced sense of honour, we now have to leave everything as it is. Your own fault, Molly Weasley. And if you wonder why I have started to reject your domineering lately then let me tell you that I have found your love potions years ago. Whenever you brewed a new batch, I replaced it with something harmless so you'd believe I was still under the influence. I didn't disown you or seek divorce for the sake of our children, but you have finally gone too far."

It is embarrassing to see this, but I think Arthur wants some witnesses as he accuses his wife of drugging him with a love potion. From Harry's stories, I'm not surprised. He showed us a memory of the morning of his departure for his third year at Hogwarts when he overheard Molly talking to Hermione and Ginny about some love potions she made as a teenager. Did she actually capture Arthur this way?

"Why did Dumbledore force the Sorting Hat to place all of your children in Gryffindor?" Minerva asks. "I mean, he didn't even know you very well when Bill came to Hogwarts?"

"An excellent question, Minerva, I'd like to know that myself," Arthur exclaims.

"He offered it to me. He approached me in Diagon Alley before Percy was off for his first year. I didn't really understand it at first, but later he told me that he wished for Ron to befriend Harry Potter once Ron would start school. He wanted Harry to have friends who were firmly on the light side. He had found that my children would be suited very well and he also offered a marriage contract to Ginny for Harry..."

"HeHHkllasdkfjHHe WHAT?" Sirius roars. "Did it ever occur to you that it wasn't in Dumbledore's power to arrange a marriage for Harry? Any such contract would have been null and void! He didn't have the right to such a decision."

"I thought he was Harry's magical Guardian... I saw nothing wrong in binding Harry to a light family. He would be happy..."

"Rarely anyone is happy in an arranged marriage. I do hope you haven't put that idea into your daughter's head, because if you have, I'd have to feel sorry for her. James and Lily Potter would never consider something so old-fashioned for their children."

"I wouldn't allow anything like that, Sirius, don't worry. Ginny's head has been filled with all the books about Harry, but I have set her sense of reality right and she now knows he's a very normal boy who is no more a hero than you or I. She's already growing out of that hero-crush since we've talked about it on several occasions," Arthur assures us.

Filius and Pomona get up.

"I think, our presence is of no consequence anymore. May we be excused?" Filius asks.

"Of course, Filius. Thank you for your time, and yours, Pomona," Minerva answers.

"You're very welcome, Minerva, as usual. Ladies, Gentlemen, I wish you an excellent evening."

Pomona follows suit and my two colleagues leave the room. Sirius and I would leave, too, but since Molly brought Harry into play, we don't want to miss anything.

Arthur looks at his wife with a very sombre face.

"So you let yourself blind with the prospect of angling Harry Potter – and his considerable riches – to become your son-in-law? Were you considering the use of love potions on him, too, in the probable case of his refusal? Molly Weasley, I shall disown you and seek divorce now, and you shall hence return to be Molly Prewett. You had better leave my house until the divorce has gone through, for I've had enough! You have brought shame to my family and yours. Leave now! I give you precisely two hours and then you'll be gone from my house. Take your personal possessions and everything you want to keep out of the house but don't you dare taking Ginny with you. The poor child would be so corrupted that she'd never have a normal life. Consider yourself warned that if the child is not at home when I get there I shall hunt you down until I can get her out of your claws."

Ouch! This has all been said with a steely voice that I would never have thought possible from this man. Molly looks at him, mouth opening and closing in silent protest, and then she slowly gets up from her chair, turning to leave the room. As soon as she reaches the door to Minerva's main office, she runs to the fireplace and leaves. Arthur hides his face in his hands and tears start to flow. He sniffles for a moment, then he looks up and apologises.

"I am truly ashamed and sorry. I have left her in the belief that she still has me under her drug and that I'm still so besotted with her that she can rule the whole family as she pleases. And I haven't been able to stop her from doing all these stupid things. I'm sorry you had to witness this, but it had to be done."

"Arthur, it might be for the best. She may have lost two of her brothers, but she has plenty of family where she can go. Just go and take care that she leaves your daughter alone," Minerva says.

"Oh, she won't touch the child. She knows I have the means to find her if she does. I'm as mild mannered as they get, but she has gone over the line of even my far-reaching tolerance. I expect to be backed up by the majority of my children."

"That's good to know. Do you wish to pass the time here? Then I would suggest we go to my private quarters. That's a lot cosier than in here," Minerva suggests.

"I suppose I will have to make a quick visit with Amelia to file that divorce. I wouldn't put it past her to do anything foolish in that regard."

"Then we shall not hold you back, Arthur. Good luck!"

"Thank you all. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"That's all right, Arthur, don't worry."

"And don't worry about your son being in Slytherin. There were other students who felt in the wrong place at the beginning of their schooling. Most of them have adjusted fine."

"I suppose so. We'll see how he does. Good evening!"

As Arthur takes his leave, Sirius and I look at each other.

"Well – that was enlightening. Was Dumbledore planning such a marriage, what do you think?"

"I have no idea. And truly, I don't even want to know, but maybe we'll have to find out what she's been up to, you know..."

"No hurry for that. We'll see how they get along with that divorce. Even if she's done something James and Lily would never accept it and it would be void anyway."

Sirius and I return to our own quarters, discussing the evening's events and call James and Lily on the floo to tell them about that attempted marriage contract. They both laugh their heads off!

"I can't believe she's actually believed that this rubbish would still be worth anything!" James wheezes.

"I can't either, but we still wanted to let you know."

"Thanks for the information. I'm glad that Arthur is growing a backbone. Seems to have done so a while ago even. That's good! He's too good a Minister to lose him to such a stupid little scandal."

"I took from his behaviour that he's not going to tolerate less in his marriage – or soon to be ex-marriage – what he doesn't tolerate in his Ministry. He's probably going to be completely open about the whole fiasco that's his wife."

**Hogwarts, 3.9.1991**

(Harry)

The morning is coming too soon! I'm the first who's up in our dorm though, but I'm glad that I can go about my morning routine on my own. As the water here is conjured and banished magically, we never run out of hot water. I take my time for my shower, brush my teeth, dry my hair and put on my clothes, covering them with my school robes.

We have stuck an enlarged timetable on our door to the bath. I quickly consult the list of today's subjects. We have double defence right after breakfast and then another double period of Transfiguration. Ah, that would be why Sirius hasn't given us any homework yet. I'm looking forward to the afternoon's Charms lessons. Professor Flitwick is probably one of my all time favourite teachers; he really knows how to teach!

As I busy myself to pack the schoolbag, Adrian wakes up and opens the hangings on his four-poster.

"Morning, Harry! Already up and ready?" Adrian stretches and yawns.

"Yep. I'll wake Neville, okay?"

"Thanks! I'm off to the shower then."

It takes a good moment and Balena's help to wake Neville. She's sitting on his chest, stares at him and meows into his ears until he wakes and looks at her. I have to laugh. He sits up, lifting the cat from his chest.

"She's done that every morning since I got her. I don't know which is more unnerving, the staring or the meowing."

I laugh. Neville's put a food and a water dish down on the floor near the fireplace and as soon as he sits up Balena rushes there with her tail straight in the air.

"Looks like you won't need our help to get up much longer. Balena seems to train you well, Nev!"

"Yeah, seems like it, doesn't it? Would you give her some food, please? I'm going to the bathroom."

"Sure!"

My bag is packed, so I go and fill a bit of kibble into not only Balena's dish, but also Seamus' cat's. Then I fetch some fresh water for them. I wait for Adrian and Neville. Dean and Seamus get up, too, and Seamus thanks me for feeding his cat.

"Went in one, Seamus, you're welcome."

We go down to the common room a few minutes later. Some of the girls are already there. I see Oliver Wood standing at the notice board and decide to ask him about the Quidditch team.

"Hi. You're Oliver Wood, aren't you? Someone pointed you out to me as the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, is that right?"

"Hi. Yeah, that's right. And you're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I wanted to ask you whether you'd let me try out for the team, even though I'm a first year..."

"Normally I wouldn't encourage you to do that, but McGonagall actually pointed you out to me and that I should let you. You any good?"

"I leave it up to your own decision, Oliver. But I'm a pretty good flyer."

"You'd be just the right type for a Seeker. Though your glasses make you a bit dependent on good weather... do you think you could spot the Snitch?"

"I usually do when I go to matches... I'd love to try out then. You don't have to take me into the team if you don't think I'm any good, just because McGonagall..."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Believe me, she's usually got an excellent eye for players. Just last year's been horrible. My first year as a captain and then I had to work with the worst Seeker we've ever had. I threw him out of the team at the end of the year. The try-outs will be next Saturday in a week. Got your own broom?"

"If I get the position I'll be allowed to bring it in. Wouldn't be surprised if my dad would go out and get me a brand new one if I actually get on the team. He's that way."

"He captained the team in his school days, too, didn't he? Chaser?"

"Yep. He's quite a brilliant teacher, too, taught me, and my friends as well. Wasn't easy to get Hermione to ease up on a broom, she hates heights. She's still managed to learn well. I suppose he'd be quite happy, too, if I got on the team."

"Well, I look forward to see you trying out then, Harry!"

"Thanks!"

When we finally arrive at the breakfast table and have our foods on our plates the owls are let in. There's one for Hermione with her Chronicle and another one with the Prophet. While she picks up the Chronicle, I grab for the Daily Prophet only to read the screaming headline:

"Corrupt anti-corruption Minister?"

The article is not very kind:

"Does the Minister of Magic Arthur Weasley subscribe to the double standards he has fought with teeth and nails for over a year?

Two days ago his youngest son Ronald started his schooling at Hogwarts and was Sorted into the noble house of Slytherin.

Not happy with the Sorting Hat's decision Molly Weasley, the Minister's rather dumpy wife who has drawn attention to herself with outrageous behaviours before, has blessed the Headmistress of Hogwarts, Madam Minerva McGonagall, with one of her infamous Howlers. In her forceful missive, she informed the Headmistress that during Albus Dumbledore's tenure as Headmaster all her children had been Sorted to the "right" house, which is Gryffindor. She then promptly refused to leave her child in the assigned house and demanded a re-sorting.

So far no statement has been given, neither by the Headmistress nor the Minister, though the Minister has actually announced a statement for this morning."

That's rather plump, I think.

"Wonder if Ron's happy about being named in the newspaper," I whisper to Hermione.

"Not sure if he even reads it. Looks like he's late to breakfast again," she replies.

I look over to the table and notice that Ron hasn't even turned up yet. When he does, he has about fifteen minutes to eat before classes begin. Thus he shovels in food and mostly swallows with hardly any chewing. Fred, sitting three seats down from me looks over as well and asks George:

"I know he's always had horrible table manners, but is that thing over there really our brother?"

"Not sure, brother of mine. I think it's time to disinherit ourselves of him. Not for being in Slytherin, but for the way he behaves. That's not a Weasley! Weasleys carry themselves with grace and good humour!"

"At least, we do. Even Percy does. Bill does, dad does, Charlie and Ginny do. Can't believe this one is one of us, I'm starting to think that mum must have him from someone else and glamoured him to look like us!"

It's mail time and there's one owl that drops a letter in front of each of the four Weasleys, starting with Ron, who just drops it to the side of his plate. Since the berk came in late, he has no time to read mail as he inhales his food. Fred, George and Percy pick theirs up immediately and start to read. They look at each other, and the consternated looks on their faces tell me that something really important must have happened.

It's interesting to meet these Weasleys. While Ron is the absolute same prat, possibly a few degrees worse of the prat he was when I knew him before, Percy and the twins have much more dignity about themselves. I suppose the fact that their father has risen to his important position in the Ministry has trickled down to them in a good way. I haven't seen Ron any happier than I knew him, even though he came to Hogwarts with a new wand and his own, new school outfit and books. Percy, if possible, acts even a bit more pompous, determined to prove that he'll get his own career at the Ministry without the aid of his father. And finally, the twins have their usual easygoing ways, but it seems that people take them more seriously, in spite of their pranks. There's a palpable dignity about them that they didn't have when I knew them before. Percy looks at his brothers and nods to the exit. Fred and George nod, gather their things and follow him out of the Great Hall. Percy looks over to Ron and tries to get his attention, but the great prat is still busy inhaling food, so the three older boys leave on their own.

I wonder what's going on there.

"What was that about, I wonder? I wouldn't have thought that the twins would follow Percy without any kind of snarky reply?" Hermione asks in a low voice.

"No idea. But it probably has to do with this article. Mr. Weasley probably informed them about it."

"Ron hasn't even started to read his letter!" Imogen comments.

"I'm not sure he can even read..." I reply. "Let's go to class."

"Though I'm not looking forward to the stuttering blunderer," says Adrian.

"We'll get by. I don't think he'll last very long. Once he and the spirit are gone the jinx on the job might be broken," Hermione consoles.

"Or Auntie Minerva is simply going to find a new name for it. I'm quite sure that could have been done a long time ago."

We laugh as we gather our materials to find the Defence classroom.

Two periods later, we stumble into Sirius' classroom, still laughing our heads off. Not only is the guy incompetent, he's even worse than I remember! Sirius doesn't ask questions, he welcomes us back to class and continues straight from yesterday's first lesson. Today we get to actually learn the first spells.

At lunch, there's a surprise for all those who subscribe to a newspaper. Both of the dailies come in with an extra edition about the Minister's morning press conference. Hermione grabs her issue and someone promptly asks her to read it for the group around her at the table. So she reads it aloud:

"Minister Arthur Weasley files for divorce after the latest slip-up of his wife of 27 years, Molly Prewett Weasley.

Minister Weasley has called for a press conference this morning in deference of his wife's embarrassing blunder yesterday.

"My soon to be ex-wife has sent a Howler to Hogwarts' headmistress Minerva McGonagall yesterday without consulting my own position. Last night we have had a meeting with the headmistress and the heads of the Hogwarts houses during which I clearly stated that I would not do anything regarding my youngest son's placement in Slytherin house. My opinion is that all four houses at Hogwarts have brought forth outstanding witches and wizards and that my son means the same to me regardless of his house at Hogwarts. It is up to him to accept the Sorting Hat's decision with grace and live up to it."

Many reporters placed questions. Minister Weasley answered them with his usual openness and honesty.

"For the past almost two years since I have taken the responsibility of my position my wife has been more hindrance than help. I have tried to help her cope with my position and shape her up, but she has behaved in a way that I cannot tolerate anymore and since she is not ready to back down from her misbehaviour I have filed for a divorce with the concerned office. The Howler to Hogwarts was only the second to last straw."

Most people who ever met Arthur Weasley would have the impression that he is a fairly weak person who would let everyone tread on him. We here at the Chronicle think that with his actions and work during the past two years he has proven himself a great deal better than that. His negotiations with the Wizengamot and the ICW councils, with interest groups within the British magical world and even with the regular citizens on the street has been passionate, convincing and informed, in some cases even steely. The British and international press have had their many occasions of mirth about the Minister's wife. Until now, Arthur Weasley has stood by her, but this morning he disowned the woman who has shared his life for almost 30 years.

"I have cast Molly Prewett out of my life last night. She has left the house that has been her home since we have been married. Due to the hanging divorce, I cannot reveal all the details and reasons that have brought me to this decision, but I will answer questions regarding this decision once the divorce has passed. It will probably take about a week. The court has summoned us for the divorce proceedings for next Tuesday."

Speculations about the reasons for his decisions are expected to run wild until then. It is understandable that the hurt party in this procedure would not give away their arguments before the actual trial."

Hermione interrupts and tuts:

"Of course they will, now that they wrote that!"

"One last doubt may of course be voiced: is the Minister covering up a personal failure that could be construed as a conflict of interest? Will it impediment his future career as a Minister, will it hinder him to continue on his path of reconstruction of our society?

We have asked a number of witches and wizards in the Ministry for their opinion. There haven't been any openly critical remarks. Most have assured us that his integrity is intact and one of his personal assistants even claimed that Molly Prewett Weasley has been a liability to him since he accepted the position, in spite of the fact that his wife had repeatedly asked him to do more to advance in the Ministry. Before he became the Minister, Arthur Weasley held the position of a department head, albeit a very small department.

"If he had been elected in a regular procedure, which takes a longer period of time, he might have taken care of the problem before he even took office, but as it is, it went too quick and he tried to get her to adjust to her responsibilities, but never succeeded. It hasn't been easy for him and only his innate sense of humour, his kindness, patience and mild manners have prevented the step so far. He would never cruelly hurt anyone. But now he sacrifices his personal happiness, though not his children, for his devotion to his work."

The Weasley children have partly already left Hogwarts, are at Hogwarts and the youngest one who starts at Hogwarts next school year is currently under the watch of her paternal grandmother."

Well, that's rather big news. Arthur has grown a backbone for a while now; he's not been under Molly's thumb as much as he was when I knew him before. He has done a lot of good work for the society on the whole, and deserves respect. I suppose that this will bring him more popularity than ever, because he rose to the problem rather than to evade it. I try to imagine Fudge and his administration under similar pressure! I don't even want to go any further and imagine how this would have played out.

"That's... you know, that was actually quite a well balanced article," says Percy, who has let Hermione read on.

"Did he warn you about it with his letters this morning?" Adrian asks.

"Something like it. He told us all the reasons though. But he asked us not to say anything before they are divorced," Fred explains.

"That's fine! He doesn't want to risk anything for the trial, which is not only his right, it's essential," Hermione replies.

"Thanks, Hermione. We'll have to keep mum about it, which isn't easy, but a week isn't a long time and then it will hopefully be out in the open."

"What do you guys think about the divorce?"

"Doesn't change much for us, now, does it? Only our vacation will probably play out a bit different. Dad wasn't allowed to invite grand-mum much, mum didn't like her, though we were allowed to visit on a few days every year. She's fine for us. To Fred and me mum was quite the harpy, but it's of course our own fault, we drove her to madness with our pranks and stuff. We won't miss her much."

"It is between our parents. I don't think Father will stop us from staying in contact with her, if we wish to have it," Percy says primly.

I don't think so either. He would make a big mistake in doing so. But he will probably leave it up to the children to keep the contact from their end and limit the influence Molly has on them at the same time.

(Remus)

Interesting. I like the way Arthur has grabbed this problem head-on and has probably turned it into a display of his quality. He will probably walk away from the press pressure with a great amount of political gain. That he gets rid of the love potion-mongering hag will be a gain much more than a loss on a personal level.

I'm looking around in the Hall and I see that Ron still doesn't even seem to try to get into contact with his housemates. He sits at the end of the Slytherin table not showing any sign that he wants to become friends with any of the other first years. Septima picks up on my glance and says in a low voice:

"I will not let it go on much longer, Remus. I'll have to talk to him soon. He thinks the world has come to its end for him just because he's been Sorted to Slytherin."

"What do you think can be done?"

"I'll see when I talk to him. I'll certainly tell him that he can always talk to the children in the other three houses, that he isn't restricted to Slytherin. They're all taught together now, he can still befriend any of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws."

"I hope he really wants to. After the discussion yesterday he may have been trimmed by his mother to befriend Harry Potter and that's all he can think of."

"He does seem to be a little close minded. Nothing that can't be trained out of him, I believe. He needs to learn to work and think for himself."

"As far as I know he likes to play chess and he's quite good at it. What do you think – we could encourage the forming of a chess group?" Sirius throws in.

"That's an excellent idea, Sirius! Thanks for that! I'll talk to Minerva about it. That would give him something besides the lessons. He'd actually meet other like-minded children."

I'm sure that will be an interesting problem to solve for Septima. Though solving problems is her daily bread as Arithmancy teacher, this is not one that can be done with a specified formula. But she's an engaging teacher, and she has an excellent understanding of children.

**Hogwarts, 4.9.1991**

(Hermione)

Today we have our first lesson with Remus. This is going to be fun! We assemble in his classroom, which he has done up the same way as Sirius'. We pick the same kind of tables as in the other classes.

"Hello, everyone! Before we start for good, I'd like it if all of you come forth and pull a slip out of each of these boxes. There is one for each of the houses and you'll pick one slip from the box with your house's colours, okay? You'll find numbers on them and if you look around you'll find the same numbers on the tables in the room. Take a seat at the table with the number on your slip, please."

There's a short scramble and then we notice that he's nicely mixed the houses at the tables. He grins and looks around. I sit on table three together with some of my classmates from Gryffindor and classmates from the three other houses as well.

"Very good. You will spend most of your time with your housemates in your houses, or in the Great Hall, therefore I have thought it might be a good idea to keep things a little bit more mixed in my class. Does everyone already know everyone else?"

No. We certainly don't. In all other classes, we've had so far, housemates have stuck together for the most part. This is a great idea to bring us closer together with the other houses. I dare to think that the Voldemort stuck in Quirrell's head would be completely put out by it.

Once we're all sitting again and have properly introduced ourselves Remus starts the actual lesson.

"Let me start by giving you an overview of what I'm planning for your lessons. For each lesson, there will be a certain subject. Some subjects will probably occupy us for more than two periods; others will be done comfortably in the two lesson periods. You will notice quickly that I'm not just walking through the chronology of our history. Rather I'm going to pick a certain subject and we'll follow it down the line until we reach the earliest times. Today's subject is the Hogwarts Express. As we look at the history of this train, we'll also look over the fence to the Muggles, who, after all, have invented the steam train."

And from there we delve into the history of steam trains. Most of the students just sit and listen as Remus goes into a bit of technical Muggle history from the hang-up of the Hogwarts Express. A very enjoyable lesson!

Harry thinks so, too, as we walk away from the History classroom. He grins and admits:

"I really used to hate that subject, but now that Remus is teaching it, it seems to be a lot of fun, too. Okay, there will be war themes, but today was really nice, don't you think?"

"I thought it was great, too! Very interesting. I never thought about it, when the first Hogwarts Express ride took place. I guess, since everyone in the family has always ridden it, I must have thought that it was always there. And then I learn that it hasn't even been 150 years," Padma, Parvati's Ravenclaw twin sister, remarks.

"Yes, that's true. And we even completely forget that the Muggles, who invented the steam train, haven't even used steam trains for a few decades now," Ernie McMillan, a Hufflepuff who shares my table, throws in.

I find it interesting that we haven't just moved to lunch or the next class as a group of housemates after the history lessons, but that we've started to leave the classroom mixed up throughout the houses. A few exceptions are there, of course, and the first one is easy to guess. Malfoy finds his idiot goons right again and puts his nose up in the air.

"What rubbish was that? We don't use the train because we don't have any other means of transport. Who cares that it was Muggles who invented them?"

"Tell me one modern invention that we magicals use that hasn't been invented by the Muggles first!" Seamus taunts, turning back to the blond ponce.

Naturally, Malfoy doesn't know of any and keeps quiet.

"That's because there isn't one, you arrogant idiot," Seamus continues. "The Muggles had the ideas, some wizards ran away with them and made them magical. Like the WWN and the Hogwarts Express. We even use cars and magically modify them for our use, but they're still basically Muggle cars. We use all sorts of things that the Muggles invented. How could we have done better on inventing furniture? There's not a piece that existed in another form just for the magic users. We couldn't invent them again after the Muggles had already made them. It's just as it is, Malfoy, we're part of the human race, no matter if we're black, red, green and pink striped, male, female or even magical. We consist of the very same materials and the only thing that sets us apart from the Muggles is the fact that we can use magic. That's all."

(Harry)

I'm speechless. Seamus? That was really well reasoned and thought through. The boy is usually just happy-go-lucky and doesn't care much about politics at all. Maybe the facht that he's grown up in a Muggle/magical household has given him more insight. This has been a wonderful input! The speech doesn't leave a Malfoy speechless, though, the idiot just keeps ranting. What Malfoy doesn't seem to notice though, is a distinct lack of enthusiasm even among his housemates about his regular rants. His two human boulders stick to him, but other than that, not even Nott and Zabini seem to be impressed with his stubborn yesterday's opinions.

What impresses me further is that the simple way of mixing us through in a class that predominantly deals with political issues over the centuries we start having thoughts for others, not only for our own kind. Differences will soon vanish this way. Because, in truth, we're not different at all. Aggressive purebloods single out others by naming differences that are either insignificant or non-existant. But they have to tell themselves that they're there and they're important, otherwise they would lose their self-understanding as the ones who rightfully own our world. And that's basically what happened in the past two years. These purebloods had to learn and begin to accept that they do not own our worls. They are a part of it, in my books even an accepted part of it, but they're not the owners.


	8. A Halloween of Triumph

**Chapter 8 – A Halloween of Triumph**

**Ministry of Magic, 8.9.1991**

(Lily)

Arthur's divorce procedure takes place today. He's called a number of Ministry employees as witnesses, mostly in the sense of a character witness, and I'm among the small group. He's seriously fallen out of love with his wife in the past two years. Dear me, he's stayed at the Ministry as long as he possibly could for a while. Only since Molly left the Burrow he's gone home earlier to spend as much time with Ginny as he could. The poor girl has been a bit disoriented, but yesterday he's brought her to the Ministry for the day, not only to present her to some of us, but also to let her see what he's actually doing. It was the first time. Molly did not believe in father/daughter bonding, Arthur had to do that on his own at home.

Ginny seems to be a little chatterbox. Once Arthur introduced her to us and she familiarised herself a little with the staff around her father she quickly turned into a lively little chatterbox who asked dozens of questions. A bright little one she is. When she understood that I'm Harry's mum she became a bit shy for a moment, but I told her a few stories about Harry and she began to understand that he is probably not her type. Good. That will probably raise her chances to find someone more suitable for her later on.

We adjourn to the assigned courtroom in the DMLE. I'm sitting down in a smallish area reserved for Arthur's witnesses. The court witch sends me to the left side of the room, where I find five of Arthur's children. I introduce myself to the ones I don't know or remember, namely the twins and greet Bill and Charlie. I remember the two oldest from Hogwarts, where I've met Bill in my fifth and Charlie in my seventh year.

I'm sitting next to Charlie. Ginny currently sits on Bill's lap. I look over to the right side, where Molly's witnesses sit and notice that there's only one person, Percy Weasley. Bill follows my glance and starts to grin.

"Mum won't be happy. Percy's only decided to be her witness to make it even clearer that we're neutral towards that divorce. She probably expects an inspired speech from Percy in her defence."

I nod and can't stop a little grin from spreading over my face. I don't think this will be a long procedure. The judge assigned to leading it is a witch who started at the DMLE about half a year ago. Amelia has chosen her because she doesn't personally know any of the involved parties. Everyone who's been at the Ministry for many years has known Arthur very well. Because in spite of the low importance of his former occupation he's been well respected and well known among the Ministry personnel. I don't think he had very many enemies, apart from those people who sat in Malfoy's pockets of course. These are long gone though. As this is a closed court session there is no press allowed. There's no need for a complete panel of judges, only the judge and a court scribe are involved.

Judge Eileen McArthur seems to be a clone of the current Hogwarts headmistress. She takes her place and opens the procedure in her hard Scottish accent:

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, would you please take your seats. We are gathered to determine the dissolution of the marriage between Mr. and Mrs Arthur and Molly Weasley Prewett. We begin by hearing the witnesses of the claiming party, Mr. Arthur Weasley, as well as his own statement."

Arthur stands and positions himself so that he's looking mostly at the judge, but that the rest of the people in the room can see his face as well.

"The reasons for my request for divorce are manifold. But the main reason is that my marriage to Molly Prewett was mostly a lie right from the start. While I thought myself deeply in love with my wife, I had to find out that this love was not something natural. One morning, about four years ago, I was up a little earlier than usual and arrived at the kitchen only to notice that my wife dropped something into my morning tea. Before she became aware of my presence, I watched as she replaced a small bottle in one of the kitchen cupboards and placed the cup at my usual place on the table. I was taken aback and, of course, wondered what the substance was, which she placed in my tea. I wasn't ill and there was no need to feed me a potion unawares. Normally, I would have called her out on it, but since she added the potion surreptitiously I didn't say anything and as soon as I had the chance to get to this bottle, and another one in the same hiding spot, I got samples and had them analysed. To my surprise and utter horror, I had to learn that one of the potions was a strong love potion and the other was a compulsion solution. I then started to observe my wife and noticed that I was given these potions twice a week. I then proceeded to replace the potion with something neutral and slowly noticed the difference of my attitude to my wife as the potions I had been given slowly vanished from my body.

"I was shocked and wondered whether these potions had been in my system for the whole time since I was together with my wife or whether she started to give them to me during our marriage. Thinking all the way back to the beginning of our relationship I'm now sure that it has been started on the basis of this love potion, because I can't remember ever feeling differently about Molly until the day I've found her slipping it to me. As soon as I was not under its effect anymore, I was disgusted! You would ask why I haven't sought a divorce right when I had the proof of her actions? Mainly, because of our children. If there is one thing I will never regret, it's having our seven children, whom I love deeply and would never abandon as long as they still need me. Due to the potions, I've left most of the parenting to my wife, but I pride myself in having a good influence and a good relationship with all of my children. The youngest one was only six years old at the time of my discovery, and since I was only a small department head at the Ministry I wasn't too worried about carrying on and leaving the family intact.

"It all changed when I was offered the position of the Minister of Magic. Molly had always tried to push me to go for a better career, but I had always maintained that after my time as an Auror in the beginning of the war with the Death Eaters I wanted to do something I liked to do and I can honestly say I really loved my work. She never went as far as ordering me through the compulsion potion to advance, which, in hindsight, still astonishes me. When I did advance though, and right to the top, she was unable to cope with her new responsibilities as the wife of a top Ministry official. I've patiently tried to help her along, but all of you know through numerous newspaper articles that she has never really understood how to shape herself up. I disregarded the embarrassment, laughed the articles away, but there comes a point when the straw breaks the camel's back as the Muggles say, which in our case was her Howler to Professor McGonagall.

"It was an action beyond stupid. She has voiced her displeasure with our youngest son's placement in Slytherin house in a most undignified form, and public at that. There was no way I could have protested his Sorting after that, even if I had wanted to. But, I have certainly not spent the last two years working hard for the eradication of corruption in the Ministry only to go about using my position to change something as minor as my son's Sorting at his secondary school, and that was precisely what she wanted me to do. When I tried to bring that point over to her, she exploded. Mentioning that the former Headmaster was involved in coercing the Sorting Hat to place my children in one house only did not help, it only added fuel to my anger. And the very last straw was that she had concocted a scheme with Dumbledore to secure Harry Potter as a future husband for our daughter Ginevra. As I learned, the driving factor behind this ingenious plan was Dumbledore's schemes for the boy, but I found it so revolting it nearly turned my stomach. It also became clear why she has fed our daughter with all the stories about Harry Potter she could find.

The sum of her betrayals and lies over the years leaves me stumped for words beyond the ones I've just spoken. I feel violated and deeply hurt and wish to terminate this sham of a marriage. I wish to keep my children, as I would not like them corrupted to think that such a use of potions of this kind is a good basis for a good marriage. Looking back, I have to say that I've had a fairly miserable married life beyond being the provider. The only things that are good about it are our children. Two have already left school and the youngest will start next year, now is the time to cut their ties with an influence I can only regard as disastrous."

Judge McArthur interviews the five persons Arthur has called as witnesses. Arthur has made an intelligent selection of people. I've been chosen because I've been around him a lot in the past two years and had my share of contacts with Molly in this time. He's called Perkins, his former co-worker, an Auror he knows from way back when he started as an Auror himself, and two people who do not belong to the Ministry contingent. We give our statements and McArthur asks a few questions through which we can give some information from our limited points of view. The two people I don't know turn out to be relatives: one is a squib cousin of Molly's and the other turns out to be Amos Diggory's wife, Deborah. Then it's the turn of the boys. The court witch calls Bill to the stand. Bill hands Ginny over to Charlie as he gets up and takes his seat before the judge.

"Mr. Weasley, what is your opinion in the question of your parents' marriage and divorce?"

"I have always had a strong relationship to both of my parents. But, as I grew up I had to learn that my mother was not ready to let me go – ever, if I had given in to her wishes. I am now 26 years old and she'd still be domineering over my life had I not decided to seek employment that took me out of the country. I have worked as a curse breaker for Gringotts, mostly in Egypt. Being entirely out of her grasp gave me the opportunity to mature and grow up on my own. I did not want to lose the family bond at all, but I needed the chance to find my own self. Seen from my younger eyes I would have said that my parents were enjoying an active and happy marriage. Once I had left home though I began to think that my father took in a bit much from his wife. She ordered everyone in the house around, which I had not questioned until I had seen other examples in other families, here in the UK as well as in Egypt. From this, more mature and informed point of view, I support my father's decision. I hope that he might find true love and true happiness after a time of healing."

The judge asks Bill for a few stories out of his life with his parents and once these are answered, she leaves it at that, and I don't think there's more that needs to be said.

Bill returns to his place among his siblings and takes Ginny back on his lap. Charlie takes to the stand and apart from his own set of memories, he repeats what Bill has said:

"As for my opinion to their marriage – I can only reiterate what my older brother said. I, too, have left my home at the earliest convenience because I felt oppressed. Not by my father, he left us all the freedoms a young man could want, at the same time teaching us about our responsibilities, but my mother thought she could still rule my life when I was already done with my studies and grown up. Rebelling didn't help therefore I left when I had the chance to get a job at the dragon reserve. She was still overbearing when Bill started his work at Gringotts so I decided to study outside of England right from the start. It wasn't easy, I really missed my family, but I needed the distance to grow up. To this day, she tries to control me, as every time I come home I get the same nagging questions and the same order to get my life under control, as if I didn't have that at all.

"Bill hasn't said anything to the potions she's used on our father. But, I would like to express my disgust. I've been horrified to think what a life my beloved dad must have had at her side. Okay, there's us, my siblings and I, but apart from that, she's just been controlling the family so hard there was not much fun at times. I understand that in hindsight, you'd be able to see what should have been visible forever, but being inside one doesn't often have the distance to notice. We always thought we were in a functioning family apart from the control issues. I find it even more repulsive now."

Next up are the twins. George goes first and basically repeats what Bill and Charlie have already said and then Fred adds something from his and his twin's point of view:

"I know it can't have been easy with George and me. We've always had this need to be independent and we've forced our views of the world and our sense of fun and laughter on the family. Mum has never understood us at all and has tried to shape us for a future career at the Ministry, which we'd never envision at all, because we both know that we'd first of all be entirely unhappy there and that the Ministry would probably go up in smoke under our combined pranking attacks. We wish to spare it from this sad destiny. Even mentioning that has usually sent her around the bend!

"If I should ever have children, I would first learn about what and who they are before I would try to force my ideas of a perfect profession on them. I believe I would never try to force any kind of career on any of my children. I might point out their strengths and weaknesses to them and then guide them to take the right decision. George and I always felt like dogs on a very short leash. It makes us go bonkers at home. We often seclude ourselves away from the family to explore things on our own. As we're identical twins, we've always been each other's halves and take our strengths from that. Mother has never understood and accepted that even less. She was constantly after us with her do this and don't do that. We're happy to stay with dad. He knows when to scold us, and does it, but not for every move we make or word we say."

When Ginny is called, Bill takes her over to the stand, where he lets her take her place on the chair. Judge McArthur carefully interviews her, trying to avoid any stress on the young girl.

"I'm a bit scared," Ginny admits. "My dad explained to me that my mum has given him potions to make him marry her. I'm scared, because before, she promised me I'd get to marry Harry Potter, when I was grown. She said that she would give him a potion that would make him fall in love with me at once and then I would be happy for the rest of my life, because I would have the Boy-Who-Lived and all his money."

Everyone gasps, me, too! This child innocently condemns her mother to a lonely remainder of her life. No one will ever trust Molly Prewett after this statement. Throwing a quick glance over to her I can see that she's close to explode.

"And why does this scare you?" Judge McArthur asks.

"Because... because I see that Daddy isn't happy at all after having these potions. I thought it must be that these are the same potions, but he doesn't feel happy. I wouldn't want a husband who is unhappy!"

"He's made her say that! He's influenced my daughter to turn against me! I can't believe he did that!" Molly starts to scream.

"No, Mum, Daddy didn't tell me what I should say. He only told me that there will be a judge and that she will ask some questions," Ginny interferes, turning to her mother.

"I didn't give him love potions, I didn't! I didn't!" Molly screeches, jumping up from her chair.

"Please sit down, Mrs Weasley, you will have your opportunity to give your statements in a short moment, and let me warn you that we are well capable of finding out the truth," Judge McArthur scolds her.

Molly sits down and McArthur turns back to Ginny:

"You have been taken care of by your grandmother since your mother's leaving, haven't you?"

Ginny beams and replies:

"Yes, and it's been great fun! We've played a lot. I never knew she liked to play games. I was only allowed to see her for a few days in summer."

"You weren't allowed to see your grandmother?"

"My dad's mum. Mum doesn't like her much. I don't know why, really, because she's made me laugh every day! I look forward to spending the next year with her until I can go to Hogwarts. She's brought in my cousins, too. They came to visit with their mum, my auntie. I haven't known my auntie and my cousins before. They never visited us before. This auntie is married to my Uncle Simon, but I didn't know him well before either. Mum didn't like them. My cousins are my age and a little younger. I never had girly friends before, apart from Luna, but Luna is a little strange and for the past years she's been away most of the time. She's already started Hogwarts now, a year earlier! Cathy and Susan are great friends now. We'll be at Hogwarts together!"

Another turn of the events. I wasn't aware that Arthur and Simon weren't close before. But I suppose that Arthur kept the relationship with his brother through the Ministry, under his wife's radar. I can see him smirking just a tiny bit. Ginny's obvious well-being will go down a long way of granting him sole custody.

"Do you think you would be happy staying with your father, if a separation takes place between your parents?"

"I would be happy. Mum let me play with my brothers, but she never played with me. Because I'm the last to leave for Hogwarts she planned to use the time to teach me every household spell she knows. Grannie teaches me things, too, but she plays with me! She says I'm good at writing and I know a lot of things that I have to know so she can show me how to have fun with her until I leave for Hogwarts."

The little chatterbox is out again and Ginny happily tells McArthur quite a lot. Finally the judge lets her leave her stand and Bill escorts his little sister back to their places. That concludes the questioning of Arthur's witnesses. It's now the turn of Molly's sole witness, Percy Weasley. He's called to the stand and sits down.

"Mr. Weasley, I have now spoken with six of you Weasley-children. I thought you were seven?"

"Yes, Madam, but my youngest brother didn't want to come. He feared the procedures would last over mealtimes, and he didn't want to miss mealtimes. My twin brothers will be able to verify that I have tried to bring him in unsuccessfully. He's still at Hogwarts."

"You have decided to stay at your mother's side?"

Percy shakes his head.

"No. I'm only here for two reasons, firstly because she used to defend me when my twin brothers tormented me. That deserves recognition. And secondly to provide some balance, because in the question of a possible divorce I stay strictly neutral. Father has always treated everyone of us right and he loves us without wanting to possess us. Mother has always controlled us. She says she loves us, but I'm beginning to believe she only sees us as pawns to move around as she pleases. I'm not a pawn."

Charlie and Bill silently high-five each other, then Bill whispers:

"See? I knew we could rely on Percy to come through as a true Weasley!"

"Yeah. He's more like rubbing it really in! Would never have believed it if I didn't see it now," Charlie admits.

The twins snicker.

"Best prank ever," one of them whispers.

It's cruel, actually. As a mother, I'm feeling dreadful and immensely sorry for Molly. I'm sure that she does love her children, but she is obsessed and doesn't know how to let go. I can clearly see her breaking down now that all of her children safe one have taken their father's side, and the one that hasn't didn't bother even to show up for fear of missing a meal. This seems like a horrible acknowledgment for any mother, even one that deserves a good part of it. The way I've learned to know her in the past two years, is that she is an absolute control freak. It seems like a miracle that her children have turned out so well in spite of their mother, but I suppose that's that part where nature conquers 'nurture', just like with Sirius. I think it's amazing how some children can prevail their innate good selves under such horrible circumstances of their upbringing.

Finally, Molly is called to give her own statements. But she only repeats the same mantra, that she hasn't slipped Arthur any potions. After a few minutes of babbling, the judge interrupts her and asks:

"Mrs Weasley, would your claim survive the use of a truth serum?"

That deflates the woman. She just stammers: "There's nothing left to say for me, really, is there?"

Shrugging, she sits down. The verdict comes straight and contains no surprises:

"From this moment forth the marriage between Molly Weasley-Prewett and Arthur Weasley ceases to exist. As per the wish of the claimant, he will pay his ex-wife 200 Galleons each month for her life expenses. She has no access to the family vault anymore. He takes custody over all the underage children, allowing their mother the right to see them for one weekend a month and two weeks per year uninterrupted, both when they are not in school. This closes the procedure."

200 Galleons is a nice allowance. She doesn't need to work if she spends her money carefully, but it's not enough to live handsomely. It will force her to find some gainful income at some point soon if she wants to be independent. I think it's fair, because it will force her to pick up her life and start again and won't allow her to wallow in self-pity for too long. With 200 Galleons, only for herself she won't need to work full time either, she can look for some job that will be nice, even if it doesn't pay vast sums. Apart from the loss of her family, she's been let down easy.

Arthur gathers his brood and throws one last look at Molly. She's not moved away from her spot yet and amazingly, there's hardly anyone who offers her consolation. What she's done is not a crime as such, though it should be, but it's abominable enough that people understand the nasty consequences are causing enough grief, and if found out it is a legal cause for divorce. In the worst case, it can be a punishable crime of line theft. Since Arthur has the support of his children, he hasn't seen any need to claim for that.

Molly must have been aware of the fact because her protest has ceased quickly and she hasn't put up a fight anymore, not even showing much of her temper.

Bill and Charlie take over the younger siblings to return them to the Burrow and to Hogwarts. Arthur has to face the public and holds a short press conference, during which he gives the reasons for his divorce and what led to it. Then he takes off for the rest of the day to spend it with Ginny. Even a Minister of Magic must be allowed a short time off to grieve over a loss as hard as that of a wife. But knowing Arthur I know he'll bounce back. He's grown in the past two years and he has a healthy outlook on life in general and himself in particular. If he wants to, he will find a new partner. I bet he's just moved quite high up in the list of interesting bachelors, even with that brood of children he has.

**Hogwarts, 9.9.1991**

(Hermione)

We've heard the news from the Weasley twins yesterday; their parents are now separated. I do hope that Mr. Weasley will be happy again, soon, but the twins claim that he'll bounce back.

"He keeps telling us that bad things that happen in life have to serve as a lesson, but that we have to tick them off as a lesson learned and move on. I'm sure he's using that mantra now," Fred explains.

"Sounds like a very good philosophy. No wonder he's so forgiving," Neville remarks.

"Yes, he does forgive easily, so long as the lesson is actually learned. But that doesn't mean he forgets entirely," Percy adds.

"That may not be wrong. As long as he doesn't serve it to you years later," I comment.

"No, he doesn't, but believe me, if it concerns you, you will know when it comes up again, even if he doesn't verbalise it," Percy says with a smirk.

"Good!"

**Hogwarts, 15.9.1991**

(Remus)

We're sitting down to dinner next to Septima. I ask her how Ron Weasley is doing now. She looks up quickly and nods over to him:

"He's still sitting alone over there. But at least he's taken to join the chess club, where he finds some challenging opponents. I'm sure that will be good for him."

"Do you think he will make friends there?"

"He spends time with others, that's at least something. He has seen at least one good thing from being in another house than his siblings – he's getting fewer pranks from the twins."

I laugh. That's true. Though I don't think that with the Marauders' Map they will be unable to prank him, even if he's as far away as the Slytherin dorm.

"There is something that really worries me about him, and whenever I try to speak to him about it, it becomes more prominent. He's so lethargic in most everything, and he's lazy, too."

"Yes, that is quite alarming. It might be a good idea to speak to Arthur about it," I suggest.

"Sooner or later I'll have to do that."

**Potter Manor, 18.9.1991**

(Lily)

We're almost off to bed when the Floo rings. I run over and find Frank's head in the fire:

"Hi Lily! Alice has gone into labour and we've arrived at the Maternity Ward. Coming along?"

"How far gone?"

"Contractions every three minutes now. I have to run!"

"I'll come in and send good vibes, Frank!"

"Thanks, hon, you're the best sister I've never had! I'm glad if you could keep mum's company, she's completely anxious."

"You're welcome. Go back to Alice and give her my love."

"Will do."

I inform James. He promises to excuse me from work tomorrow and to take the day off himself to look after Bobby. A kiss and I'm off.

At the ward, I look after Augusta, who's quite nervous. It doesn't take very long though and only an hour later Frank comes out of the birthing room to show us his newly born daughter.

"Mum, look who's arrived! I'd like you to meet Veronica Larissa Longbottom..."

She's a beauty! She's very different from Neville, while Neville's his mum's face and body shape, Veronica is Frank all over, even now right after she was born. Augusta tenderly takes her on her arm and gives her the traditional family blessing. It's one of those magical traditions that warm my heart. A grandparent's blessing has a similar meaning as the acceptance to be a godfather or godmother. It binds the person who gives the blessing to the child in a unique way. That person will be unable to harm the child thus blessed. Because we had been on the run most of the time between Harry's birth and our deaths, Sirius and Remus had given Harry his magical blessings as his godfathers. It saddens me to remember how far Dumbledore went manipulating the public to make people, and in particular Remus, forget that Sirius couldn't ever have harmed Harry, as he was his godfather and that they all condemned him.

But all this is forgotten as I give my own magical blessing as Veronica's godmother. Peter McKinnon, another friend that had been returned from death, who is here as well with his wife Marlene, adds his blessing as the little one's godfather as it's usually done right after the birth of a magical child. Little Veronica sleeps through most of it. She's already had her first meal and her first bath. Frank beams as he takes her back on his arm.

"Thank you all! She's truly blessed to have you all on her side!"

"It will be lovely to accompany her as she grows, Frank. Though I do hope that we'll be blessed similarly soon..." Peter hints.

"What! Is there something to know that I don't know yet about my other best friend?" I ask.

Marlene smirks.

"Can't be more than a month yet, love. We've only tested it a few days ago and I haven't been able to contact you since then..."

"Yes, we've had a busy time, but it's getting better now. Anyway, congratulations, sweetie, that's great news. Our children will certainly enjoy growing up together..."

"Don't tell me..." Frank says. He's just started to walk back to Alice, but turns around again.

I laugh.

"About as fresh as Marlene, Frank! You do remember how James dreams of his own personal Quidditch team, don't you?"

He laughs

"Oh yes, I do! So you're pregnant as well. That's great. When are you guys due then?"

"Mid-June next year, I suppose," Marlene says. It's her first and she hasn't done much maths of that sort yet.

"And me beginning to mid-June."

"That's great. I suppose I'm allowed to tell Alice?"

"Of course! Now go ahead and give her Veronica back!" I urge him.

Laughingly, he bids us a good night and leaves with the baby on his arm. I accept the congratulations from Augusta and the other acquaintances in the room and offer my own to Marlene again, before I bid them farewell.

I bring the news back to James who is most pleased. As we settle into bed, he caresses my belly and kisses me.

"Would be lovely if this one was a girl, too, sweetie, just for a change..." he whispers.

"That's your responsibility, love. You decide, or better that other head of yours has done that..." I reply with a grin.

"Yeah, I know. Hope I've made many girl sperms then," he admits with a grin of his own.

We haven't told Harry yet, but I know he'll be pleased. He wants more siblings after all and we're all in the same boat there, James and I are determined to give them to him. We're healthy and as long as that's so, we can have a bunch of children. Bobby is such a joy to us, too! He's a bit more me than Harry used to be as a baby, but he's growing into a cheerful little fellow, much as Harry was at the time we died. I'm ready for the next.

**Hogwarts, 19.9.1991**

(Harry)

As we meet up for breakfast, we all hand Hermione a little gift for her birthday and wish her all a happy birthday. She is happy and promises to take her time looking at everything and reading all the cards. I've had Mum buy her a little charms bracelet for me and get her the first three charms for it, which are a book (naturally), a cat and a wand. As she unpacks it, she thanks me and says with a grin:

"Now that's clever, Harry! Makes it easy to find future presents, doesn't it? I love it!"

"The art lies in finding the right significant charms for it, Hermione," I reply.

"Touché! That's true."

"Glad you like it!"

"I do! It's a lovely bracelet and the first charms are very nice, Harry."

With the arrival of the owls there are more gifts coming Hermione's way. She's nearly buried under all the owls that find their way to her. Imogen has a camera in her pocket and takes a picture of the swarm of all the owls. Each one wants to be the first to hand over its burden! While we all find that very amusing Hermione complains that she can hardly breathe anymore. Our attention is so drawn to her that we miss the lone owl that has landed in front of Neville. He grins and asks it:

"Are you sure you're not another owl for Hermione?"

But the owl holds out her leg to him and insists. There's a letter, which he takes, before offering a drink of water and something to bite to the owl. A wide smile spreads on his face as he's reading it and he exclaims:

"Mum's given birth! I'm a brother now, too, Harry!"

"Wow! And what's your sibling? A brother or a sister?"

"A sister! Her name is Veronica Larissa and she's been born early this morning. There you go, Hermione, you actually did get an almost sister on your own birthday!"

"Oh, that's wonderful, Neville. And what a lovely name!"

"Yes, it is. Not one of those old-fashioned wizarding names either."

"Your parents have style, Neville," I remind him.

Everyone around now congratulates Neville. He reads on and remarks:

"I'm allowed to go home this weekend to meet her..."

"Good for you! See, that you bring back photos, Nev!"

Hedwig has come in as well, bringing Hermione her birthday present from my parents and a letter to me as well. When I read it, another smile is called for. Mum's having another baby, too, in June next year! Wow, they're really serious about that Quidditch team for Dad.

"What's your mum writing, Harry? You're all smiles," Hermione asks.

"That she's pregnant. Next June I will have another sibling! We're drawing even now," I reply.

"How nice. You don't mind, do you?"

"Mind? Of course not. It's great that I'm blessed with siblings now, Hermione. Dudley certainly didn't pass as a cousin, let alone a substitute for a sibling. I miss Bobby a lot!"

She nods. In a way, she's lucky to have Adrian and Imogen right here with her. Being here at Hogwarts for the most part will not exactly give me a chance to get close to my siblings, but I'll be home during the breaks, which I'll enjoy and I'll still do my best to befriend them.

**Hogwarts, 5.10.1991**

(Remus)

During lunch, Minerva asks Sirius and me to join her in her private chambers after dinner. When we arrive there, she has already a small group of guests in her living room: Lily and James, Frank and Alice, Hestia Jones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody and Amelia Bones sit around on chairs, the sofa and armchairs.

"I have called you here because we have a case of possession here at Hogwarts. Some of you already know this, but others don't. I'd like to bring you up to speed, as soon as one of our students arrives as well."

We have to wait for a few minutes, then there's a knock on the door and Harry enters. Moody, Hestia and Kingsley look astonished that a first year is asked to this conference. Of course, they all know him, but none of the three Aurors knows Harry's secret. Minerva calls Harry over and offers him a seat. He places himself between James and Lily, who move a bit outwards on the sofa to give him the space. Lily hugs and kisses him tenderly.

"Harry, I've called in our friends and Kingsley, Hestia and Alastor, because they can help us ridding this world of the last piece of Voldemort. But they need to know why we have to do this. Can I leave the stage to you?"

"Pensieve?"

"Right here, sweetie."

Sirius and I aren't the only ones who are amused at the puzzled faces. Mad-Eye looks at James and asks:

"No disrespect towards you or your little son, laddie, but why do we need him? And what's this about the last piece of Voldemort?"

We all grin. James explains:

"You'll hear directly from Harry, Alastor. Patience is a virtue, you know..."

Harry places a few memories into the Pensieve and turns to the Aurors:

"I know you wonder what a first year can help you with getting rid of Voldemort, but here's the answer: I'm not only my little self, just over two years ago I have come back from the future into my own body, but with my memories of 35 years that I have already lived. This is not only important because I went ahead and changed the whole future, it's important because I brought with me the knowledge of much that's not commonly known about Voldemort. I know, because in my first life I have been able to rid the world of him. The reasons for coming back are very personal and of no importance to you, all I will tell you is that my personal situation was so horrible that I decided to end my life at the age of 35. The method I chose to kill myself was by jumping into the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries.

"When I was 15, I had lost my godfather to this thing and I thought it would be quick and clean and leave no body. Only when I jumped in I wasn't already dead. In fact, I was asked if I wanted to go back and if I wanted to go back to some point in the past. That was easy to answer, yes, I did want to go back and I chose a moment in my life when I could get the most important changes to the gain of not only myself, but to the magical world in general, because we did defeat Voldemort, but nothing changed in the magical world. Purebloods still ruled for the most part and while they didn't attack the Muggle-borns and Half-bloods anymore they were still the same snobbish bunch they've always been.

"I 'returned' to my earlier self at eight years of age, a few months before my ninth birthday. In fact, I woke up one morning to find I had the memory of 28 years more than I had lived so far. The only one I dared to contact from the wizarding world was Remus, so I wrote to him and that's where everything started. I was able to free him from all of Dumbledore's curses and spells and then we went to Gringotts, where I claimed my inheritance, especially the Portkey to Potter Manor. I showed him a few memories from my first life in the Pensieve at the Manor. We weren't sure how we would move on, just that I needed a new magical guardian to get out of Dumbledore's greedy little paws. Sirius was still at Azkaban and we first had to get him out, so he was still out of the question then. Mum and Dad's wills had stated Aunt Minnie and Madam Longbottom among others to become my guardians after their deaths, so Remus went to talk to Madam Longbottom, who then in turn brought in Madam Bones. Amelia was ready to listen to what we had to say and show her and the first thing she did was getting a trial for Sirius. As there hadn't been any before it was easy to set it up to get the records straight. You all know what followed after that."

"We know. So you're practically doubled up, eh?" Alastor asks.

It's a credit to him to believe Harry's words. I'm sure he's on high mental alert though. Harry's story is quite hard to believe.

"Sort of. My old memories are intact, but they're certainly less important now than two years ago as everything's different now, and I'll let them slowly fade out. The reason why we're here is that I know how Voldemort is to be eliminated completely. I've put a few memories from my first life regarding Voldemort into the Pensieve. The first is the full wording of that ill-famous prophecy, how I heard it for the first time..."

After the play of the memory, Harry pulls the next thread and explains:

"Very nice, isn't it? This only an hour or so after Sirius died, talk about tactless! I was in such a bad shape that I believed him, though I was still beyond mad. Anyway, once I knew the Prophecy I thought that he'd actually train me in the next school year, but all he did was calling me to his office showing me memories of Voldemort. He wouldn't come straight out with it at once, even though he could have, because the memories didn't take very much time. Here they are."

All the memories of Dumbledore's research regarding Voldemort play through quickly. At their end, Harry explains some more:

"Now – as you could see, Voldemort was a bit obsessed with objects that could be traced back to the Founders of Hogwarts. There was a reason behind this, because he wanted them for a special project of his. Here's what Dumbledore wanted from Professor Slughorn, but good old Sluggy was ashamed and never delivered. I finally brought it out of him."

We're shown the memory, in which Tom Riddle asks Slughorn if he thought that someone could make more than one Horcrux. I watch the three Aurors. Only Alastor seems to understand, because once the short memory is over he turns to Harry.

"More than one?"

Harry nods.

"How many? Do you know – or remember?"

"I have them here! That part has already been accomplished. Since I knew about them and what, as well as where they were we have eliminated them at the earliest convenience, two years ago."

Harry presents the group with a bagful of destroyed Horcruxes. The only one that isn't there is Hufflepuff's Cup, which has been returned to the Smith family.

"This was Tom Riddle's cursed diary. He stored it with Lucius Malfoy, who, in my second year, planted it into Ginny Weasley's schoolbooks. I don't think he ever really knew what it was or he wouldn't have been so careless. Ginny started to use it and its enclosed spirit almost killed her. It fully possessed her and forced her to open the Chamber of Secrets."

"The Chamber of Secrets? But that's just a myth, isn't it?" Kingsley wants to know.

"It's not, and I can show it to you if you want to see it. Though only armed with at least two or three crowing roosters..."

"There's a Basilisk inside?" Hestia asks with wide eyes.

"Yes. The spirit used Ginny to guide the Basilisk out into the school. It used the pipes in the walls to move, and luckily, no one was killed. A few students, Mr. Filch's cat and a ghost were petrified, but treated with Mandrake potion; they were all fine at the end. I don't want to go into the whole gruesome story of how I managed to kill the Basilisk and kill off the spirit that was about to take Ginny's life force, suffice it to say it was quite gruesome. Also suffice it to say that there are currently just two people – one of them nothing more than an evil spirit – who can go down into that chamber – Voldemort and I. His botched Killing Curse on me left some of his powers in me, among others he's made me a Parseltongue. And that's what you need to get into the Chamber proper. I didn't know how to stop him at first, but then Fawkes, who was with me down there, dropped the diary in my hands and I grabbed the Basilisk fang to stab the diary. It was a good instinct, because ink started to ooze out of it and there was screaming, until the ink stopped and the spirit that had already begun to materialise was gone. What I didn't know then – the diary was Voldemort's first Horcrux, containing half of his soul!"

We go through the chronology of Voldemort's Horcruxes, which Harry explains and he also presents the memory of how they were destroyed two years ago.

"Now I begin to understand. There's the part still left that was Voldemort's original remainder of his soul, isn't there?" Kingsley concludes.

"Precisely. Now to the reason why we're all in here. In Harry's first life, Dumbledore has set up a scheme, with which he intended to test Harry. He faked Nicholas Flamel's famous Philosopher's Stone and hid it here at Hogwarts. Then he went and hired a young man for the Defence post, of whom he knew he would be possessed by Voldemort's spirit! He asked all of us main teachers to add to the security of the stone by putting some protection down. I have no idea why my future self didn't think right away that my giant chess set, while certainly a very good piece of transfiguration never stood up to an excellent first year chess player, but it certainly didn't as Harry's memory showed me. Harry, Hermione and another friend of theirs tried to talk to me, but seemingly, I never listened to them. Now that I know what Dumbledore's done to me, I understand that I never really bothered to listen to my students. Fact is that the three got through, only for Harry to find Quirinus Quirrell, whom he managed to defeat because of the protection that Lily had placed on him. And that's why we're all here. We hired the same Quirinus Quirrell and we know for certain that Voldemort already sits inside of him. We need to get him out of there and kill him off. Any ideas?"

Hestia, Alastor and Kingsley look at each other, then at us and Alastor asks:

"Are you sure that you have all of the Horcruxes?"

"Dead sure. They're the same as last time. We know that he made a sixth Horcrux after Wormtail brought him back after my fourth year. Since this is still before he can't have made that one yet. In fact, that was his pet snake. Is there a way to finish off a soul fragment out in the open, that's the question we now have to answer," Harry says.

"Hmmm. I know of one spell, it's a bit like an exorcism spell. That could work, because it's quite deadly to a ghost exorcised from a possessed person," Kingsley finally offers.

"It's worth a try," James says.

"I think we have to be absolutely sure. I don't want to risk anything. And not even a hush about Horcruxes around Quirrell! If Voldemort should get away somehow, he isn't allowed to know that we have destroyed all of his Horcruxes. He would be easier to kill if he got himself another body, because he's just as human as everyone else then. Besides he'd want my blood again, because he thinks he needs to prove to himself and his Death Nibblers that he actually can kill me..." Harry throws in.

"I can offer the Black family library; I expect there should be something in the books about killing off such a spirit. There's enough such horrid stuff in there. It's where Regulus found information about the Horcruxes in the first place," Sirius throws in.

"Wasn't that your brother?" Hestia asks.

"Yep. He found out that Voldemort made them, got hold of one of them, but he paid with his life for finding it. Before he died, he was able to order our house-elf to take the cursed object back to our family home and destroy it. Kreacher had managed to hide it there, but he remained unable to destroy the thing. It's the locket here."

"So, then I suggest we get busy and research. Can you get to your vault to get out the books, Sirius?"

"Yes, and tomorrow should be good – it's Sunday, so we can get in there relatively easy. How about we meet at the Three Broomsticks for a nice little breakfast and then move on to Gringotts?"

"Fine with me – 8.30?" Hestia asks.

"No problem. We'd rather do it early anyway..."

"No problem? Getting up this early? I remember someone who wouldn't come down to the common room before midday on Sundays..."

I grin. That was before we became teachers. And in Sirius' case of course also before Azkaban. He says it aloud:

"That was before I had children to teach, dear Hestia. Get yourself a bunch of them and you will kiss late mornings in bed goodbye for a while!"

"Oops. Forgot, sorry..."

Lily laughs and looks at her friend.

"You know it's really starting to become about time that you do something and get yourself a nice partner and a couple of kids, Hestia. Would be a waste not to pass on your power and wit."

"Not everyone's a mother lion like you, Lily! We're all in awe about that fierce dragon inside of you, you know."

"You're just too immersed in your job and don't take time off to find the right dad," Lily claims.

"Well, there's that."

**Hogwarts, 6.10.1991**

(Lily)

Minerva has found an obscure area within Hogwarts, which she offers us to use for our research. We've all met at the Three Broomsticks, then Sirius has taken off with Remus and Frank to fetch all the books from the old Black library, which are now lined up inside a whole stack of 18th century bookcases that line two of the rooms in that unused Hogwarts wing. We look at it in wonder. It's probably a wing that had been added at some point in the early 18th century, as the style looks like one of those late baroque castles. The flight of rooms is on the third floor and looks out to the south, to the lake. The wing is located on the western end of the castle. I'm sure I've never been here. Coming here took about ten minutes to reach the bottom of the stairs only!

"I've never been here before either, but if I need to find hidden corners in Hogwarts I just have to ask my house-elves, they always find the best places. It's been built when there were exceptionally many students in 1742, and there wasn't enough space in the houses. For 15 years in a row, there were more than a hundred new students per year, and these you couldn't send to the regular dormitories, so they added this wing. Four floors and this one was the Ravenclaw extension. I went through some documentation material I found in the headmistress' library. There's a whole stack of stuff in there that documents the growth and decline periods that Hogwarts went through. I'll have to study the material some more and add some of my own findings later on. You might want to help me with that, Remus, after all you're the historian around here..."

"I'll gladly do that, Minerva. Sounds enlightening!"

"It's certainly interesting. – Now then. This here is only the entrance to the Ravenclaw wing, these are the common rooms, then it goes on to the actual dormitories beyond, enough space to house about 300 students. All four houses have their own traditional style, of course, that's why you have all that blue and bronze in the soft furnishing here."

It's true. The two rooms we've entered first all have the traditional Ravenclaw blue and bronze in the curtains and covers of the chairs and sofas as well as the rugs on the hardwood parquet floor. The furniture itself is even pre-Chippendale in style, but beautiful, all painted white and gilded. There are groups of tables and chairs, sofas and armchairs around the fireplace. Every free bit of wall is covered with the bookcases. We've just finished stacking the original books into crates while we're going through Sirius' material and spreading the books from his family library into the bookcases.

"I've just summarily cleared the blood spells from these books, but there's still a chance that you might get hurt if you touch them, I'm not sure the spell covered all of them, even though it said that it does," Sirius warns us.

Darn, these Blacks were possessed by their own importance! Oh well. Let's get to work. This is a nice place to work on such a sombre subject.

Arthur is letting me have the whole week off for this research. Amelia has officially given the research order to James, Kingsley, Frank, Alice and Hestia. No one asks questions about their detachment to Hogwarts, such things happen here and there. Alastor joins us as well. He might not be the most patient of researchers, but if we find anything, he's able to tell whether it's an option or not, he has that sort of knack.

After the procedures two years ago, Alastor was devastated! He had been Dumbledore's friend for so long he had probably forgotten when that friendship started. If anyone had any influence on him, it had been Dumbledore. Finding that much deceit in the man had almost killed Alastor. It certainly disillusioned him to a point where he went into early retirement. Arthur saw to it that his pension is well endowed enough to grant him a good life for the rest of his days. He's a highly decorated Auror after all. Most people only see a grumpy old man when they meet him for the first time, but we know him well and his grumpiness is part of his own special charm. We know that there's quite a bit of love for children deep down in him, but it needs children who know how to tickle that out of him. And he has some quirks that amuse all of us. In spite of his paranoia, he's always ready to help, just as long as it's for his right side of the opinion borders. Now he places himself in some comfortable armchair and calls for a house-elf, whom he asks if he can get a second breakfast. We all laugh about that. Alastor is ready to eat almost everything – after a careful check for anything poisonous, of course – just as long as he doesn't have to pay for the food. Beyond that, he's got his hip flask, from which he drinks exclusively.

**Hogwarts, 11.10.1991**

(Lily)

It has taken us the whole week. We have gone through a huge number of ghastly books, but we've found half a dozen of spells and curses to finish off spirits, ghosts, even poltergeists like Peeves. The poor little poltergeist is now living in fear of exorcism, because we've told Filch about the spell and he can now threaten Peeves when he needs to get rid of the little nag. Peeves knows that Filch is a squib, but Filch can still threaten to call for one of the teachers.

Now it's about the execution. We need to surprise Quirrell, so that Harry can grab him and drive Voldemort's spirit out of him. We think he's a bit suspicious about our group. We've eaten in the Great Hall and sat with the children, at least James and I, Frank and Alice have. We felt it normal, because we also have Bobby and Ronnie with us. Harry has definitely enjoyed having his little brother here and has played with him every afternoon. Hermione even joined some of the research after classes.

We decide on a little ambush, we're quite certain that Quirrell will follow any lead on the fabled Philosopher's Stone. He's already tried to find out what's protecting it, and we know that he doesn't know about some of the protections yet, especially Hagrid's three headed dog Fluffy.

We hope that he'll try to let in a troll again, which would be an excellent opportunity to seize the man in the hullabaloo he's certainly causing with his announcement. If he doesn't to that we'll just have to catch him later with something else. We can't forget that Voldemort is underneath that turban, and he's at least as paranoid as Mad-Eye.

Using the Marauders' Map, we follow his every move from that moment on. James has copied the version of the Map that the Weasley twins have nicked from Filch, so now we have two of them that we can watch. The slightest move he makes to the third floor corridor we'll be there. There's no stone in the last chamber after the protection, or what's there is a fake in any case and so far, he doesn't seem to have any suspicion about that at all.

**Hogwarts, 31.10.1991**

(Remus)

We have to watch that map until Halloween. If Quirrell uses the same trick, he'll let in a troll as a distraction. We're deliberately waiting for one more protection to be set up – Filius' enchanted door keys. But then I have an idea. We can use the ruse of his fainting. I'll secretly add a simple stunner and while the kids are leaving the Great Hall, we get Harry to sneak away and return to us. In the afternoon, I go into the small chamber behind the Great Hall, which I spell impervious for ghosts and spirits. We'll levitate the stunned Quirrell in there to 'treat' him. Then we should be able to get rid of the spirit. The worst-case scenario is what Lily said – Voldemort might have to hold out a little longer down there in Albania.

As the feast starts, we're on full alert. The Aurors as well as James and Lily, Frank and Alice are there as Minerva's personal guests for the feast. As told by Harry, Quirrell comes running inside the Great Hall and falls at a dead faint in front of the High Table, screaming that there's a troll in the dungeons. Minerva stops the panic while I quietly stun Quirrell and levitate him into the prepared chamber.

As soon as all the children have left the Great Hall, Hermione has Bobby and Neville has taken little Veronica, Harry comes right with us, we close the Great Hall's doors and the doors from the small chamber to the Great Hall. We leave the troll to Filius, Pomona and Cecilia; they will get it cleaned up in short order.

Quirrell is still completely out of it. We gather around him and Harry puts his hands on Quirrell's face. The skin burns up immediately, there's a hissing sound and only after a few minutes the body seems to shrivel under Harry's hands, he has a hard time, but he doesn't let go until Quirrell is definitely gone. That frees the spirit. It comes flying out and tries to get through the walls, but is hindered by my wards. We can't really see it, but we can sense it trying to find a way into any of us, but we're treated with the same wards. There's a scream and that gives it away in the end. We start to recite our spells, all six of them and repeat them until the screaming stops. Harry is still on his legs – he has a few burns on his hands, but those will not be a problem to heal immediately. He looks around and smiles, but he still asks:

"Do you think that's it?"

"Yes, I think he's gone for good this time, laddie," Moody says and his face is pulled into a grin that could almost represent a smile.

"Yay, yoohoo!"

Harry starts a little victory jig and we all look at him, smiling. The bane of his existence is gone and he can now live. We'll do everything we can that his life will be a good one. He deserves it because he's brought that peace and love to us. Many of our kind actually didn't exactly deserve that, but he's ready to take it on and change things to make our lives better.

We decide to relocate to Gryffindor tower, where we'll join the Gryffindors with their feast. Minerva checks on the progress made with the troll, and returns after half an hour to inform us that the troll has been taken care of. It destroyed a few things with its club, but they're already repaired. There's a great hurrah among the students and those few who know what we've been up to, add an even louder hurrah. It's not like their housemates will know just what their hurrah means.

**Hogwarts, 2.11.1991**

(Remus)

The very next day Harry comes to our chambers and asks:

"Can we take care of the Basilisk now? Then it's all done..."

"Yes, no problem. We know that all it takes are a few roosters crowing. We should get Amelia's permission to use Imperius on the roosters to make them crow."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Thanks, Remus."

"You're welcome, Harry."

It's a short process, but an interesting experience. Harry calls for Fawkes to accompany us. The bird is ready and willing to come along. We have a few roosters in crates with us. Hermione asks to come along with us and we allow her that. We even allow it to Neville, Luna, Adrian and Imogen, all of whom stay very quietly in the background unasked. We all know where the entrance is and how Harry has to open it, so we follow him to the bathroom where Myrtle has her sad homestead. Hermione sees the slime in the pipes and asks:

"That's where we have to go down, isn't it?"

"Yes," Harry confirms.

"Well, I think I can forego the dirt in there... anyone an idea how to clean this? It looks horribly slimy!"

"Vanish the slime," Luna suggests.

"Evanesco?"

"Yup."

We leave it to Hermione to pull back the sleeves of her robe and wave her wand to her usual perfection. It leaves the insides of the pipe we have to use to slide down in perfect condition. I'm astonished how long it takes. We must be very deep under the actual castle, within the rock of the actual mountain beneath the buildings. But there it is, a huge cavern cut out of the rock. I'm not sure if it is actually a natural cave or if it has been carved out by magic, but I suspect the latter. We watch as Harry starts to hiss again. He perks up and says:

"It's coming! It listens to me because I speak Parsel, so be alert for the roosters. – I can hear it behind that huge statue over there. Now it's coming through, cast!"

Sirius, Frank and Alastor cast the Imperius curse on the crows who all start to crow at the same time as there's a huge snake head coming out of the Slytherin statue. We want to look, but all of us know that one look into those eyes, even if the snake has died instantly, is still deadly. It's hanging limply out of the hole in the statue through which it has come out of its hiding place. Fawkes flies over and hacks out the eyes. They would be worth a hundred times their weight in gold or more, if some dark wizards or witches could get them in their greedy fingers, because these eyes in certain potions would be so powerful! But we won't need them for our purposes. The rest of the body will be another thing entirely. Fawkes pulls it out of the hole proper and brings it over to us. That beast is about twenty metres long and at almost a metre thick! We decide on the spot to bring the ingredients to the market, but slowly, to create more interest and more competition. Some of the ingredients will be given to Cecilia Prince, for the restricted potions storage. And the proceeds will go to the Hogwarts school fund.

An hour later the snake has been deposited at Gringotts for a professional disintegration into potions ingredients. Cecilia has given us a short list of what she'd like to keep; the rest will be sold in small portions. The Goblins take their percentage, but that will still leave Hogwarts with a thick mound of gold more. In fact, the contents of this vault will practically double once the last ingredient is sold.


	9. Seven Years Later

**A/N** - I'm sorry for the delay. I wanted to find a good end and not abruptly finish the story once the obstacles were taken out. This is the first of two parts of the ending.

Thanks to all who reviewed and the many people who put this story in their favourites or alerts!

**Chapter 9 – Seven Years Later**

**Azkaban Prison, 31.10.1997 **

(Narrator)

Eight years. Albus Dumbledore didn't know how he knew that it had been eight years since his well laid out plans had been discovered and he had been brought to justice. He wasn't even aware that it was Halloween, but on this evening his Occlumency finally gave out for good and he had nothing left to fight the Dementors' torment. He succumbed to the misery and to all the horrors in his life. He was made aware that there were so many horrors in his life that he had been able to repress in the course of his long life. Not only did it start when his sister died because of him. It had started long before that. And it had not ended when he understood that he couldn't take the same route in life his father had taken. His father had killed those Muggles, not (only) because they were Muggles, but for the torturing of his little daughter. But it hadn't taken much to bring out his hatred enough to kill.

The Dementors brought it all back out. The misery he had felt when he started Hogwarts and most people expected him to be Sorted to Slytherin, because they thought he'd be the same as his father. The Hat, of course, was fair and Sorted him to the house he belonged: Ravenclaw. A neutral house, in which he could grow up among sharp witted young witches and wizards. But also a house that held many students who would later put their intellect to good use for bad ends. During the years Voldemort tormented the magical society he had always suspected that many Ravenclaws were mixed in the mostly Slytherin Death Eaters. Poor Filius was devastated over each and every one that was found out, but he couldn't do anything to prevent it. Many traditional Slytherin families tolerated Ravenclaw as a house for their children, if they weren't Sorted to Slytherin. Though most of those families were so degenerated they hardly had children intelligent enough to be Sorted to Ravenclaw.

Thinking of himself, he realised that it had always been the intelligent ones who knew how to hide their potentials that had been the most dangerous Death Eaters. He shuddered, because now, at the end of his long life he found himself being incarcerated side by side with them. He pondered the injustice of this since his first priority in life had always been to fight Darkness. He never understood how he could have been incarcerated for being the leader of the Light? He never understood that his manipulations had brought him around to the other extreme and thus met up back with the Death Eaters closing the circle on the other side. Was it really a crime to play the political game that everyone with a bit of brains played? What had happened that his schemes had become known? He could only speculate but even his considerable intellect never found out that a single event had brought him to this horrible place.

Whatever it was, his power had dwindled away in the years at prison. He had nothing to stimulate his mental needs, and now that the Dementors had finally gained the upper hand over his mental shields he had nothing left at all. Their presence in his head caused all the misery they were supposed to cause. They felt his emotions, knew that he had finally broken down and were onto him with almost feverish attacks. His plans for the little Boy-Who-Lived only took a small place amongst all the things that had gone wrong in Albus Dumbledore's long life. It seemed to be the greatest injustice that he had to die in that same awful place his father had died. On this night, where the borders between the living and the dead were so thin, he could feel the ghosts of his past calling him: his father, his sister and many who shared his paths. They may not have died because he killed them, but they died for his 'cause' and many had been used or they died because of him.

Albus Dumbledore had 159 years of life on his shoulders. Exposed to the Dementors' torment, creatures he had always utterly despised, he had nothing left to protect himself and it took the Dementors a mere few hours to finish him off. The morning of All Hallows hadn't dawned when he took his last, shuddering breath.

**Hogwarts, 21.12.1997 **

(Narrator)

The news came to the public only a few weeks later and both dailies published only a small article about the fact that the 'great' Albus Dumbledore had died in the night of Halloween. At Hogwarts, Harry and Hermione, now in their seventh and last year of schooling, both read the short obituaries. Harry sighed. In a way, he felt sorry for the old teacher, but remembering all the misery his actions caused him, and the rest of the magical world in Britain, he thought that everything that did happen happened for the best.

Harry looked up from the article he had read in the Chronicle. He didn't need to say it aloud; he knew that Hermione felt satisfaction that this long life had come to an end, too. He only had to look around the tables at Hogwarts to know that he had done the right thing.

In the course of the past seven years of his life at school, there had been many small changes, and they resulted in what Dumbledore had always pretended to wish for: house unity. Only, Dumbledore had not really done anything to create that house unity. Minerva McGonagall, on the other hand, was ready to look around and do something to achieve that goal. Of course, she was helped immensely by the great purge of the pureblood families in 1989, but she listened to ideas, had ideas of her own, she worked with the Ministry and the School Governors and together they looked over the fence into the Muggle education systems and started to implement teaching methods that had left the medieval ages.

Thus, in the course of the past seven years, Hogwarts had become a modern magical school, similar to schools in other magical areas, especially in Canada, France and Australia.

Harry smiled, when he thought about how two years ago Minerva had been the proud co-founder of a new International Education Society, through which educational standards were cast for a broader education that would be brought to all children in magical societies around the world. In the two years since its foundation, the IES had gathered some 68 countries as members and more joined almost monthly as their local ministries ratified the treaty. The IES had been founded as a sub-group of the International Confederation of Wizards. That gave the Society the necessary importance for members to implement its rulings. Standards were worked out by a board that consisted of ambassadors from all member states. Input from them resulted in a treaty named the International Terms of Education of Magicals, simply called the ITEM, where the minimal educational standards for every member state were laid down.

ITEM now not only dictated the member states what their children should learn, but also how all magical children regardless of their blood status were to learn by the time they left the educational system. However, it did not dictate the way the children should achieve these goals, as it left the educational authorities of each member state the decision how to design their own school systems, forming them upon their local needs. Hogwarts, for example, worked very similar to the British Muggle school system of the secondary school, with a first main test after five years (OWLS for magical schoolchildren and GCSEs for the Muggle children) and a final test after seven years (NEWTS for the magical, A-Levels for the Muggle schoolchildren). So far, students who left Hogwarts had to further and intensify their studies if they wanted mastery on their own and they were tested for their mastery through the Ministry of Magic's Wizarding Educational Authority. Usually they underwent an apprenticeship with a master or mistress.

ITEM now also brought standards for university education and thus in Britain the first magical academy was built up. It was situated in an old, for decades unused building in Diagon Alley, which was in the course of being renovated and magically enlarged. It was expected to open up in autumn of 1998.

ITEM did not fix all the details for all subjects. It dictated the techniques children should know by the time they left school, and the core subjects that were the same everywhere in the world: Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and Defence. These were the basics, but it left the member states to design the content of their classes. It dictated the subjects that had to be offered as secondary subjects, History, Herbology, Astronomy, Magical Theory, Muggle and Magical Customs. The last one was a new suggestion, a subject that would contain information needed for the Muggle-borns to understand the magical society and the magical children to understand where the Muggle-borns were coming from. It was to be given to all children in first year and for further studies again in sixth year, where there would be more space to cater to the more matured understanding of politics and social studies of both worlds of the older students. The most important aspect about the new subject was that it would be mandatory and that the two parts of the education would be brought to all children regardless of their blood status.

Harry thought that this was a brilliant handling. The course in first year would give the children an even basis and show up the few differences and the many aspects that were exactly the same in both worlds. It replaced the completely dumb Muggle Studies. At Hogwarts, it was co-taught by a Muggle-born and a pureblooded teacher.

Finally, ITEM suggested the subjects that should be offered as electives, and the list for these was much longer than the short list of five subjects that Harry remembered from his first run through Hogwarts. Some of the subjects could be picked as early as first year.

All in all, Harry pondered as he put the Chronicle back on the table, the changes had been good for Hogwarts. There were no house tables left, except for the big official feasts, mainly the Sorting at the beginning of the year. Students sat down where they wanted to, met others, talked to everyone and made friends in all of the other houses. And Harry was fascinated about the fact that still the house meant extended family, because the houses were still open to house members only, but Minerva had created a few lounges throughout the castle, where students could spend time with their friends from other houses in a more cosy atmosphere than the Great Hall, which nevertheless was still frequented by some of the game clubs. Curfew had been changed to ten for the first three years, eleven for the fourth to fifth years and midnight for the sixth and seventh years. There were still prefects, but they didn't patrol the halls anymore. They were the intermediates between the students and the teachers, they organised the clubs, they supervised the younger students when there was no teacher available, and they represented their fellow students in the teachers' meetings when there were problems.

The overall feeling in the castle was much less rigid. Even the portraits were more at ease. But, houses still competed for the House Cup, the Quidditch Cup and some smaller competitions were held in games and other sports. As Minerva used to say, a little competition amongst the students was always a healthy thing, they would meet it as soon as they entered their professional lives, so they should also be prepared for that.

"Ready to go up and pack for our last Christmas break from Hogwarts, love?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Yes, I am."

"You've just read that article about Dumbledore's death, haven't you?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes, and it made me think about my returning to my younger self, of course. It may have been my fault to go into that Veil, but since I was given that chance to be sent back in time I am convinced that wd did the right thing to change things so early. I think it was right to do what I did, even if it did have dire consequences for many people."

Hermione hooked her arm into his and looked up at her fiancé. All she had to do was reminding him:

"The consequences hit the right people though. Look at all the changes here, love. So many good things have come from your actions as an eight year old. Look at the harmony, the cheerfulness and look at how much more we learned than we would have, as I've seen in your memories. Look at the peace! Look at the people who would have died if you hadn't done what you did. And the changes here are just a particle of the changes in the large magical world out there. And finally, let's not forget all the fun we were allowed to have. All through one man's view of the 'Greater Good' you originally had your life completely ruined and countless people died because of this man, for this man or fighting this man's cause. How much better for the whole magical society is what we have now?"

"Infinitely better - we enjoy prosperity, growth and happiness. The only thing I regret is that I won't see all my little siblings, nephews and nieces coming through Hogwarts. It would have been too much fun, but these are small regrets. The joy that the past years have brought is so immense, Hermione!"

"And you deserve it all – from the happy educational experience to the Headboy badge. There was never a question that Aunt Minnie wouldn't give it to you."

"Nor the Headgirl badge to you, sweetheart. You deserve it much more than I, after all."

Hermione laughed. Harry had played his good number of good-natured pranks on many people in the school, but as he had been the clever help of two clever twin boys, he'd not been found out very often. Just a normal life at school, she thought fondly. It sounded almost unnatural for Harry to live a normal life, after everything he'd been through in his first life.

But Harry had not only gone through Hogwarts for a second run, he thoroughly profited by learning at least three times as much as he had through his first life. His marks were above average and his intellect was stimulated and spurred on to achieve more. His innate brilliance had been tickled out and Harry had an easy time, even though he studied, he didn't have to overdo his studying to get good results. Of course he had enjoyed his time on the Quidditch team as well. He had made friends for life, many of them, which was a vast difference to his first life. The older he grew, the more he forgot about that former life. He consciously worked on forgetting about it, too, and enjoyed life as a student and young adult.

They left the paper on the table; there were always others who had no subscription. As they turned away from the table they caught sight of Sirius and Remus, who were about to leave the Great Hall as well. They smiled and waved, as they walked between the many tables that had replaced the rigid rows.

"Good morning, dears!" Sirius greeted them.

"Morning, Padfoot, hi Moony! Are you coming home, too?"

"Yes, we just have to pack up. You take the train, I suppose?"

"Wouldn't miss that, it's our last year after all. We're going to miss Hogwarts something terrible," Hermione confirmed.

"You shouldn't miss the last few train rides, I agree. I love what Hogwarts has become now, don't you?" Remus asked.

The beaming smiles he received was answer enough for him. The two young people hugged him and Hermione said:

"If it had been anything what it was that I saw in Harry's memories I would certainly not have enjoyed it anywhere near as much as I have in the past six years, Moony. It was as open and interesting, as warm and funny as it could have been. It's actually a shame that the old codger didn't know the difference when he died two months ago."

"I take it you've seen the article then. Sad, but I'm still relieved he's gone, Hermione. He cost me a few years in Azkaban, he still has that on his conscience and it's only a tiny bit of all the grief he's caused. I do feel sorry for him, but I don't feel sorry how things have turned out. Not one Death Eater in sight anymore. People starting to forget that there was something like a feud over the blood status of people. It seems that sometimes there has to be a great purge to move on. Our world is now prospering instead of declining. What more can one wish for?"

"Nothing much. Except for an awareness of how quickly that can change. I'm sure that Voldemort won't stay the last Dark Lord."

"Probably. But that's a bridge to cross when it's reached. You can try to keep people alert, but history has a habit of repeating itself," Remus reminded them, ever the history teacher.

"How true. Anyway, we have to move on, if we're to reach the carriages. We'll probably see you tonight, won't we?"

"We'll be there when you come home," Sirius promised.

"Great!" Harry beamed.

He and Hermione shared the small flight of rooms that were given to the Headboy and Headgirl at Hogwarts. It consisted of two well-appointed bedrooms, a bathroom and a well-sized living room between the bedrooms. The apartment was situated on the fourth floor of the main Hogwarts building, with a view out to the Black Lake. Harry thought it was one of the best places to look out of the castle. On clear days, it became visible how the huge castle was nestled in the mountain above the lake. Hogwarts stood on many levels on the large cliffs right above the water. The lake was situated on the southern side of the houses, on the opposite side of the main entrance. Beyond the lake were the southern grounds of the castle, bordered by the massive Forbidden Forest that stretched for many miles around the lake, grounds and the castle. The forest enclosed most of the castle, up the hill, over the mountain, from the south to the north. The only open side was the path that wound up from the gates to the castle in the southeast. Lush meadows spread over the hill along the path, replaced by the lawns around the entrance, down to the lake and Hagrid's small house. Minerva had the old hut replaced by a much more solid stone structure, with two separate bedrooms, open kitchen and living area. She thought that the Keeper of the Keys of Hogwarts deserved a better home than the shack he had to live in for so many years. Now getting on in his years Hagrid was very thankful for the headmistress' consideration.

Reaching their chambers, Harry and Hermione didn't take long to pack their trunks. They did have their magic after all, and they put it to good use for everything that even looked like work from far. They placed the trunks in the living room, where they would be picked up by the house-elves that took them to the train, as it was usual. Again hand in hand, they left their rooms to go up the flight of stairs to the seventh floor, where they met their best friends in the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione was proud of the six of them. They had really done well at school, most of them had their special subjects, but they had done well in all areas of education. She was content that they had managed to enjoy their life at Hogwarts as much as they did. There had been a good balance between work and fun outside of their classes. Harry had his Quidditch, of course, and there hadn't been many times he was beaten as a Seeker. He'd been joined in the team in their fourth year by Imogen, who replaced Oliver Wood as the Keeper. When two of the Chasers and the two Beaters left at the end of their fifth year the three that remained, built up the new team, which was now back up to standard. Harry had helped Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup six years in a row, but the team worked hard for that success, and was well respected for it. James was beside himself with pride of his oldest son. He hadn't missed even one game, which made Harry very happy. Even though he didn't win them all, he had always played a good game. Lily had been afraid her husband would fall back into the arrogant ways he had displayed as a teenager, but James was just genuinely proud of a young son who performed far above what was expected from him. Harry wasn't an overachiever, he simply had fun and enjoyed performing well.

Hermione wasn't afraid of heights anymore and flew her broom well, but she'd never had much fun doing that with a big ball in her hand that forced her to take at least one hand away from the broom's handle. But, as she used to state, Quidditch also lived through the people who watched it, so she'd be happy as a spectator as long as Harry chose to play. He was a natural up there in the air, as if he seemed to belong there.

She remembered when she'd seen him fly for the first time. She had been frightened for a moment, but then she'd had that discussion with Lily about claiming her wizard early. She had a slightly triumphant grin on her face when she actually did claim Harry as her own. She knew that she would be running in open doors, but it had been a very good feeling when Harry and she had become an item. It was in the summer holiday between their third and fourth year when they had all been outside celebrating Harry and Neville's birthday with their usual big party. The Harry and Neville joint birthday party already had fame status. Usually there would be at least around fifty guests from their Hogwarts circle of friends. And most of them wanted to make it to Potter Manor for that occasion! They wanted to be there, because it would grant them a certain status in society and of course, they wanted to be there for all the fun and laughter that was guaranteed!

So when Harry turned 14 they were playing broom tag and at some point they were separated from the others for a bit and that was when Hermione claimed her wizard. She had pulled together her Gryffindor courage and had openly asked him how he felt about her. His beaming smile was all she needed and they returned to the others slightly flushed. Once the dancing started after the big barbecue dinner, they didn't need to inform anyone about their new standings toward each other. It seemed very natural that they came together early and surprised no one.

They had gradually grown even closer ever since. They had become intimate before returning to Hogwarts for their final year and even that had happened very gradually, naturally and unforced. Both had all the time they wanted and used it well. Both sets of parents had taught them about their responsibilities. Both sets of parents were equally pleased about their relationship. Instead of the shy, withdrawn, but over-achieving and often tactless, bossy Hermione of Harry's first life, she had grown into a charming, brilliant, open-minded and well-respected young woman. She was well aware of her physical flaws, but when the school nurse had once offered her to fix her teeth she hadn't first asked her parents, she'd allowed the nurse to cast the spell that would change her life and her self-awareness greatly. It made her day that not only Harry noticed the change immediately and complimented her. Many other people spoke up during the following days and gave her a very good feeling about the difference it made to her smile. Knowing the grief Hermione had received over her prominent front teeth from her peers at her primary school even her parents were happy that magic was able to help her fixing this problem. Her face hadn't changed much externally, but internally the correction of the position and size of her teeth and jawbones helped her health.

Harry and Hermione greeted everyone in the common room and met up with the four others that made the core group of their friends. Neville and Imogen, who had been a couple for a few months, greeted them with a casual handshake. Adrian and Luna, who had hooked up only a year after Harry and Hermione, joined them and together they took their leave.

"Seems strange doing all these things for the last time, doesn't it?" Adrian asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Yeah, it definitely does. I'm sometimes very sad that this is the case and then I tell myself that I have to enjoy it, because it's the last time," Harry confirmed.

They mingled with all the others who waited to mount the carriages that the Thestrals pulled. There weren't many who could actually see the animals, but many of them had learned about them in Hagrid's class. Hermione was very glad that there weren't many who could see them. It meant that very few of her fellow students had ever seen someone die. For those who had it had not often been persons who lost their lives forcefully.

On the way to the train, they chatted about everything that went on in their lives. The hours and the train trip passed in short order and down in London they were already expected by the rest of their families.

As usual, the platform was full of people. Hermione smiled and thought what an awful mess it would be once all the students from the train would join the mass, but for some reason everyone managed to get by and go through the barrier in an orderly way. There were four new Floo stations at one end of the platform, regularly used by those who didn't go out to the Muggle area or return home by family Portkeys. Harry and Hermione only took their trunks, shrunk them and placed them in their pocket. Then they picked up Crookshanks' wicker basket and saw to an orderly exit of all the younger students. They checked that they were all reunited with their baggage and pets and saw to it that everyone met their parents. Their own parents and siblings waited patiently. Ever since Hermione and Harry had become prefects, it had been a part of their duties to stay behind until all other students had safely left the station. Finally, the group of prefects from all houses were able to leave as well.

James and Lily fondly watched as their children went about their duties. George and Helen Granger, as well as Frank and Alice and the Lovegoods were right next to them. Luna was the first to join them, Neville, Adrian and Imogen followed, and finally Harry and Hermione came to greet them as well. Harry's face displayed the contentment and happiness he felt when he saw his family: he was now the big brother of so far four siblings. Bobby had been followed by a pair of identical twins, Philomena Amelie and Philippa Andrea and the so far latest girl's name was Liliana Kaitlyn. So far five little Potters. James was just as happy as his wife was. He had already taught Bobby and the Phils, as they were known in the family, to fly, and had found that they were just as gifted as Harry was on their brooms. Lily grinned and bore it, with a bit of anxiety left in her heart, but she was soon reassured when she saw how the little girls took to their brooms. Bobby was good, but the twins, three years younger though they were, overtook him within a few short weeks of their first introduction to the broom. It made James laugh, not at Bobby, but at the way the Phils ran out to meet the fun that awaited them in the air. Like Harry, they simply loved to fly. And now they couldn't wait to tell their big brother all about it.

As Harry approached them, the family stood in a row. Eight years old Bobby, the five years old twins and the two years old Lili on his Mum's arms greeted him. Even though he was at Hogwarts for the best part of the year, he had worked hard not to be the absent big brother. He loved his siblings and played with them often when he was at home. He wrote them many letters when he was at school. He carefully placed Hedwig's cage on the ground before giving them all a hug and taking Lili from his Mum's grip.

"Hey, my sweet little one! How's my favourite baby doing?" Harry asked her and tickled her.

"Hawwy! Stop tickle Lili!" she screeched, but she laughed all the time.

Harry did stop and planted a hearty kiss on her cheeks. After the baby, there were the twins who already surrounded him with their presence. They were his spitting image. James couldn't get enough of seeing them together, because they looked so alike. Harry was a bit more introvert, but the twins not only looked like him (with their mother's eyes) they had inherited their father's outgoing temperament, too. It was a good thing that James wasn't only their father on the paper, that he worked for the family as much as he did for work, because alone with them and their liveliness Lily would have broken down long ago. She often thought that the Phils were like pure quicksand and definitely impossible to stop. Two of them made it even worse. The Phils left everyone breathless. As much as they were like quicksand, they were very sincere in several things; they loved and when they loved, they loved with all their hearts. They were full of ideas and had a way to communicate without words that astounded even George and Fred, who shared a similar method of communication. Wherever they turned up they were the centre of attention immediately simply by their personalities. Harry and Bobby never minded to step back a little to leave them their stage, but Harry noticed that Bobby, as he grew older, found it a little distressing.

Neville could also greet his siblings. Ronnie had been joined by a brother around the same time that Lily had Liliana. His name was Galahad Oliver.

They were a fairly big group that left the station with a Portkey to Potter Manor, where Remus and Sirius already waited for them with their own child, a now four years old boy named Orion Alphard. They had him through a surrogate mother who was now expecting their second child in the next three months.

Harry sighed happily, as he sat down to dinner with the rest of the group of family and friends. They would all be celebrating Yule together and then there would be the great Christmas party, all within the family and friends circle. And after that, there was the great New Year's Eve party, which had risen to become one of the society highlights in the past several years.

Even rather introvert Harry had succumbed to the merriment of the Yule season. Hermione and he danced the New Year's Eve through into the New Year that marked the beginning of their last six months at Hogwarts. Like Harry, Hermione had grown up more outgoing and thus enjoyed her evening immensely. Her cinnamon eyes sparkled and Harry couldn't take his eyes away from her. She wore another set of periwinkle dress robes that looked gorgeous on her.

James and George watched the two and grinned.

"Well, these two really do belong together, James. Before Harry turned up, I was a bit anxious what would become of my pumpkin, really, because she had all these issues. Even with Adrian and Imogen's support, she was still the most fragile of our three children. And now I see her and think that everything's turned out very well."

"She's definitely the right one for Harry, George. They're great fun to watch. And it's nice to see how their social skills have grown in the past years, too. When I met Harry again, he was so shy! He responded well to Lily and me, but my, what a shy kid! It took a few months until he was getting closer. One of the first things he told us was that he wanted to find Hermione as soon as we possibly could."

"What a sweet boy he was, James. I was pleasantly surprised at the path they took. No girl could wish for a better boyfriend."

Lily and Helen sat on two of the lovely chairs along the wall of the ballroom and talked as well. Alice was with them and together they happily gossiped about all that they observed through the room. They, too, had all read the articles about Dumbledore's death a few days earlier and discussed what had come about their world after his incarceration.

The political changes were vast and weren't restricted to the education system. The many trials after the hearings of 1989 were now known as the Great Purge and following that, Arthur used his power to build up a new government system. He was finally able to reach the finishing line in the past year.

The Wizengamot had been disbanded to make room for the re-established old Wizard's Council, now called the Magical Council. This was newly styled after the modern ways democracies were set up, with two chambers, one would be a chamber of elected representatives called the General Assembly. This chamber was set up to be the most important parliamentary legislative body, and it would be 200 heads strong. The smaller second chamber, called the High Chair, would consist of a small group of those Wizengamot members who had a hereditary seat in the old Wizengamot. They would amount to thirty heads and the remaining twenty members would again be an elected group. As the Minister Arthur would hand over all legislative power to the new Magical Council. He and his department heads would bring in the laws they thought necessary, but the decision lay within the two legislative chambers. The Potters as one of the oldest families in the country would keep their seat from the former Wizengamot and were allowed to send in a represantative at all times. Sirius took the seat that the Blacks used to hold. Old Mrs Longbottom was still the representative of her family, in close cooperation with her son. Frank didn't want to pick up the political responsibility yet.

Both chambers would be the only power to set up, amend or abolish laws. If one chamber did not vote the same way on a law, it would be sent back to the other until both chambers could agree on a version, up to three times. Arthur had carefully worked the system out and had bounced his ideas back and forth with many people. Some had warned him that the limit of sending back a law three times from one chamber to the other would make it hard to come to decisions on things that were more difficult. Therefore, he came up with the idea that if that were the case the law would be voted on by the complete Council and all votes would count together. That would ensure that decisions could not be held off forever.

Arthur and the Ministry would suggest the legislations to the new Council chambers. Once voted on and accepted, the Ministry would implement the laws or amendments. This meant that the power of the Minister and the Ministry would be highly limited in future. The Ministry was now the executive part of the government and thus decided on the ordinances necessary to implement the laws.

Besides the new forms of legislative and executive organs, the legal system also underwent important changes. The DMLE was now extended to become the new Department of Justice and Police, where the former Department of Magical Law Enforcement was only one of two main sub-departments, now named Office of Magical Law Enforcement. The other sub-department was the new Office of Legal Affairs. It was the new judicial body, responsible for a clean execution of all trials. All judges were taken together and placed in this office, whilst the complete prosecution would come out of the OMLE. Trials would be prepared and held under the guide of the OLA. Amelia Bones remained to be the head of the department, while the Head Auror became the head of the OMLE and a new head was elected for the OLA.

Arthur had taken the opportunity to give the order to the OLA to work through the entire legal texts available. He asked them to put together a team of about ten professionals to examine the entire legal texts on their validity and bring up all doubtful laws. In a second step all laws would be redefined where necessary. Five years after this team had started its work it had abolished a good number of superfluous, redundant or unfair laws and identified the holes in the legal body. Arthur had given the Wizengamot two choices: either vote on all individual laws or the entire renewed legal texts. The team of professionals had pointed out that for the most part the existing laws didn't need to be changed, they only needed to be adjusted to the modern day language. They proved that they had not altered the substance of the laws, they would still mean the same, they were only simplified for the most part.

After analysing and discussing the texts for several months, the Wizengamot decided on voting on the entire legal text and accepted them. The rejuvenated texts were printed and distributed to all legal professionals inside and outside of the Ministry.

Ministry heads would still be elected by the Magical Council upon recommendation by the Minister.

The changes required quite a bit of input from the Ministry employees. Arthur was pleased to see that most of them had received the changes quite well. There were always a few who thought that this was all unnecessary and who wanted things to stay as they were. Many of these left the Ministry. Arthur was not the only one who saw them leave with a good conscience. They were soon replaced by more capable employees.

Arthur Weasley had done an excellent job as an administrator. He was outgoing, but calm and enjoyed the work he did. He had very good advisors and always took their advice with a grain of salt. One of his usual remarks was never to decide on the spot if possible, but to sleep over it once. He was glad that he didn't have to ponder decisions that would actually hurt anyone. He was in the good position of creating a new environment for the magical population. He tried to make popular decisions and where he decided on more difficult things, he communicated them in a way he knew he would find acceptance.

The work he did for the Ministry and the people he led made a completely new person out of him. Lily had thought he couldn't become even nicer than he already was, but he managed to prove her wrong - he could! Seeing the progress he had brought forth didn't make Arthur only proud, but as happy as if he had made it all of his own. He gladly gave the creative credit to the ones who built things, but without his bidding there wouldn't be any creative process at all. He often supplied input through ideas that came to his mind. Nothing was able to help any creative process than a steady flow of ideas. Working with Arthur and watching him, Lily understood where the twins were getting their ideas.

There was one item of the legal code he didn't want to let sitting until the new Council would take up work, and that was the Werewolf Code of Conduct. It had not yet been included in the remedial work that the professional team did. Their job had only been to eliminate redundancies and find blatant faults, as well as rejuvenate the code linguistically. Arthur fought hard to have the Werewolf Code of Conduct removed and replaced by a few articles in the Criminal Code. He was happy to throw out the thick book that made all werewolves to social outcasts by principle. Instead of the horrible thing (Arthur often compared it to the Malleus Maleficarum, the Witches' Hammer of the medieval ages), there would now be a handful of paragraphs in the new Civil Code and the Criminal Code. The paragraphs in the Criminal Code referred to offences that were werewolf specific and thus needed the special wording according to their typical crimes. For any crime committed by a werewolf that wasn't werewolf relevant, they would now be tried under the normal Criminal Code.

To help them there was much more funding for their support. In fact, the Werewolf Support Unit that had existed at the Ministry for a long time finally did become a supporting office. Wherever possible the Unit tried to find jobs for the werewolves and helped them back into a regular civil life.

Arthur mused how smooth the transition had passed. The year before Amelia and her department had organised the first elections the British magical world had ever held. His own staff had helped with the organisation. It had been the test run for the first real election. As they had built the system up from scratch, they had to develop a method to record the votes and attribute them to the individual witch or wizard who voted. They were all magical after all, and that would soon allow a clever person to cheat and cast more votes than they were entitled to. For that reason, polling stations had been set up in Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and in the smaller wizarding area in Manchester. A register had to be established, which was easy with the Ministry resources at hand. The Ministry was, at every moment in time, able to determine the exact number of the magical population. From baby to the old age pensioner it was always clear how many of them there were and who they were.

Amelia's department had started by setting up the list of eligible voters. That was every witch or wizard 17 and over. They held the election over three days, allowing all to floo in to cast their votes. Their magical signature would be on the ballot, which they had to fill in situ, to avoid tampering with the ballots. The people had been curious and came, and cast their first votes and based on that first try, a shadow Council was established. The candidates were serious and offered their early services to the test run. Most of them would be candidates again when the first real election was held. It was therefore a test for them to campaign as well as to see how the election actually worked. The results could be seen as a prognosis for the real thing. But of course, it was only a small list of candidates on the test run.

The results of the test were very interesting for the technical parts. Amelia had used the population register and asked some experimental charms specialists to link it with the polling stations. Election helpers signed off the voter, the ballot didn't carry any name, only the votes. Participation was in the mid 40%, which satisfied Arthur, who was afraid there wouldn't be that many.

"Well, after one or two elections people will realise that the government is a product of their opinions stated through their votes; I hope that will give them the necessary kick to go and vote. And I hope that our fellow witches and wizards will learn to accept majorities," Amelia said bluntly.

"I sincerely hope they will learn to understand. It would make governing easier if there is at least a large part of the population responsible for the composition of the parliament."

"That's true. We're not taking it too far anyway. We will have the Council voting for new judges and the General Assembly to either confirm or vote for the Minister of Magic and department heads. This system is not too complicated and should work! I think we have managed to reach a separation of powers as is needed to keep control between the different organisations."

There were no actual parties founded yet. Witches or wizards who wanted to take part in the election as candidates presented their application to the election board and campaigned on their own. Where they lived or worked didn't matter. The complete magical population was spread over the UK, but since there weren't more than about 100'000 in all, they didn't need to split up the country into voting regions. Every vote went into the pot, the first 200 were elected, the next ten to twenty would move in when one of the 200 elected members fell out. The twenty elective seats in the High Chair would be handled the same way. To prevent the Parliament from becoming little more than an asylum for old age pensioners the age limit was set to 100. Upon reaching that age any representative had to leave at the end of the legislation period or hand his task over to a younger family member.

A drastic move away from the old system! Hermione looked forward to the first time she would be able to cast her votes. She discussed politics frequently with many people and was very alert.

**Ministry of Magic, 31.05.1998**

Amelia blinked. She was studying the population growth reports of the British magical society and had repeated her study three times so far, always spotting an interesting detail. She scribbled down her notes and took them to the monthly meeting of the Department heads. When it was her turn to report, she said:

"I have conducted a bit of a demographic study in the past months, to determine the exact number of persons who have voting rights. But, doing that I also researched the children's numbers to get an overview over the population growth and I found some interesting, if disturbing number of Muggle-born children that reached schooling age at Hogwarts has significantly increased in the past seven years. I compared the registers of the Muggle-born magical children and the death records of children under the age of eleven years in the Muggle world. What I found is even most disturbing: for every Muggle-born child that reached Hogwarts age until 1990 there are at least three to four that didn't. They all died, either in accidents, with sudden illnesses or through murder. Most Muggle-born children at Hogwarts have lost at least one magical sibling. In some cases two or three of them."

Every other department head looked at her in horror. Arthur asked:

"Do you think that there were people murdering them?"

"I can only conclude that. Before the Great Purge, there were many pureblood supremacists who had access to the demographic information available. They could have sought out the children and kill them at any time."

"It's probably hard to go about and question the Azkaban inmates about that. A few of them have already died, too."

"I can have it investigated, if you wish. It would be like flogging a dead horse, not much more would be found out, but I think that so many dead children deserve to be remembered and we have to know who was behind those attacks. The most interesting part of my short research is that there are growing numbers of magicals coming to our society, bringing with them an enlarged gene pool, which will be helpful in the long run. Our future was rather grim while the pureblood supremacists had their say; we were already on the brink of declining as a society here in Britain. Now the numbers have constantly risen, through Muggle-borns and through an increase in the birth rate. That in itself is very promising. But I did want to mention it."

"Very well. All in favour of taking note of the information without further investigation?" Arthur asked.

No one wanted to make a fuss and the fact was noted in the minutes on an informational basis.

**Potter Manor**,** 1.6.1998**

Amelia took the information to the Potters though, because she wanted to discuss it with them and the Grangers, whom she knew. Since Amelia knew everything about Harry's time travel, she was aware of the fact that the Grangers had two children more than they had in Harry's first life. James called George and Helen in and they discussed it over a shared dinner.

"Helen and George, do you remember when Harry first came to your lives, that he mentioned he never knew about the existence of your twins before?"

"Yes, very well even. At the time, we wondered what the differences were. Since the Hermione of his former life never talked about any siblings, we always wondered whether she never had any or whether she didn't talk about them because their loss was something too traumatic for her."

"There could be a reason for that. I have made some research in the demographic department and found out that there are increased numbers of Muggle-born children coming to Hogwarts in the past few years. While there were maybe four or five in the years before your Hermione started at Hogwarts, there are now rather ten to twenty every year. The only conclusion I can draw from that is that someone has taken out these children before they even reached the age to receive a Hogwarts letter!"

"But how would they have known? The children usually remained in obscurity in the Muggle world, didn't they?" Helen asked immediately.

"Yes, they do, but that doesn't mean the Ministry doesn't know about their existence. Every child born with magic, no matter if it is from an old magical family or from Muggles, is registered in the magical birth register. This register is semi public. All it takes is a simple request to look up a certain person and everyone can look into that register. Beyond that, there are many people in the Ministry who have unrestricted access to this register, and due to its magical nature, the register also contains vital data, such as magical updates on the address of the persons, the names of parents and siblings and such. Dates of birth and death of course, too. This register takes up a whole hall at the Ministry in the meantime. There is an active register of all people who are alive, and there is an archive of all people who have died. Data will magically transfer from the active register to the archive once a person has been dead for more than fifty years."

"Then you suspect that our twins could have been murdered in Harry's first life?"

"I highly suspect that even. The death could have occurred through direct murder, accident or illness, we have found a whole multitude of methods and means. When I compared the Muggle registers in about a hundred individual cases, I found out that not all deaths of these children came to pass forcefully, but I still suspect they were caused by ill-meaning wizards. It would be hard to prove though. The fact that the loss of children stopped after 1989 strongly suggests that many of the witches and wizards who were purged from our society caused those deaths. Because the end of these mysterious deaths happened suddenly. It stopped in 1990. From then on there are consistently between three and four times as many Muggle-born children in each new batch of Hogwarts students every year. What would you think?"

"That Harry's time travel has changed an awful lot more than he probably ever thought!" George exclaimed.

"Exactly. Having a mysterious case in my own vicinity, I could conclude easily. Unfortunately, not many are aware of Harry's extraordinary time travel, and that's how it must stay, and for that reason, the drive to investigate this more is not very strong. Especially since most of the probable perpetrators are already at Azkaban for the rest of their lives or have even been pushed through the Veil of Death. But I did want to let you know."

"Thank you, Amelia, that's been interesting. Our twins therefore have to thank Harry that they're still alive. I, for one, am very thankful in any case."

"I will probably still do some research into it, because I'd like to know how far back these murdering horrors were busy going about this. To me it's one of the worst crimes that the Death Eaters committed. Killing children with such deliberate hatred is probably one of the worst things anyone can commit."

"Have you found no evidence of such killings anymore since Harry returned?" Lily asked.

"Just two or three cases before the Death Eaters were all captured. Then nothing anymore that didn't occur naturally. It would probably be impossible to nail it down to a particular Death Eater without further questioning. Because we didn't ask respective questions back then we didn't get any answers. Under the truth serum, people tend to talk about their deepest secrets, but only upon specific questions. If the question isn't asked, an answer isn't given."

"I've always wondered about that potion. That means a person subjected to it can still think on their own?" Helen inquires.

"Yes, the only compulsion is to speak the truth as they know it best when asked a specific question. That's why the questioning has to be precise and sometimes a question needs to be asked in several ways to avoid the person from holding back parts of the information. Yes or no answers can be just that. Further information will only be given if asked for reasons."

"I see. That seems to be rather ingenious!" said Helen.

"And that's also why the potion is so highly regulated and the recipe so restricted that only a few people can get hold of it. The formula has been improved and developed over decades. It needs to have a precise effect to be of use in criminal investigations. We usually wait for its use until we get to the actual trial."

**Hogwarts, 15.6.1998**

The fifth and seventh years were able to breathe again. Their last exam had ended in the afternoon and most of the students walked to dinner with a feeling of accomplishment. Harry and Hermione went over the exams with a few questions and answers and sat down to eat contentedly. They chatted with some people around their table. She looked around the Great Hall and found that everyone looked at ease.

Remus was present at dinner as well. Sirius tended to the children on this evening. Their new baby Carina Spica was only a few months old and needed a lot of attention, especially since Ori was now of an age where he actively took part in all things that pertained to his little sister.

They had mixed their sperms for the creation of their children to have a random outcome. Sirius had won out with Orion, but Carrie was definitely Remus' little one. He had always loved Harry and his younger siblings, but Remus was amazed that he loved his own two with an even fiercer heart. It sometimes scared him, because he knew he would be able to kill at any time if it had to be to protect his children. Like Lily, he would be ready to die if it saved his children's lives.

Remus looked around the Hall as well. He sat next to Minerva, who talked about some new scheme she hatched to Pomona on her other side, and let his own thoughts wander. His glance fell upon Ronald Weasley. The boy had advanced in the past years, slowly at first, but lately he'd come to rest and just minded his own business. Of at best average intelligence he'd been able to pass his classes to his satisfaction. Through the few clubs he attended, he had made a few friends from several houses. He had never associated himself with his house with the exception of one boy, Blaise Zabini. But he animatedly talked with Blaise and some other boys and girls from his chess club. They usually shared a table.

Remus turned his gaze to another table, at the far end of the Hall, where Draco Malfoy sat with two or three of his classmates from Slytherin. He hadn't ever moved on. He had been given every chance to improve, to move beyond his parents' teachings, to mature, but for some odd reason Draco Malfoy had been unable to pick up anything new. While most of the students at Hogwarts now knew what there was to know about Muggle technology as well as all the magical equivalents, Draco had excluded himself from everything that didn't correspond to his limited views. Remus shook his head. The boy had antagonised just about everyone in the castle whenever he had a chance to do so. While most of his housemates had been interested in the new things they were able to see and learn he had excluded himself. He was still money talking and that hadn't improved any when he came into his inheritance at reaching seventeen. Remus couldn't count the number of detentions and suspensions the boy had been subjected to while growing up. His favourite victims were, of course, all the Muggle-borns at school and it seemed to irk him that not so slowly Muggle-born students became the majority of the students at the school, together with all those from mixed-blood status. The only purebloods left were either orphans or children from the light families. Remus wondered what would become of this young man, who would now leave school with more money than he could ever spend. In spite of his good looks, there were hardly any girls who would give him a second glance, once they saw how he behaved. He had been an outcast, because he wanted to be an outcast. The only girl close to him was Pansy Parkinson, the only boy who stuck by him was Theodore Nott. They were never joined at any table they sat, and they usually chose those farthest away from the teachers' table. Remus was determined to have them observed for a few years. Malfoy had more money than was healthy for him and with the guidance he got from his great aunt Cassiopeia he was more than prepared to follow in his father's footsteps. Reasons enough to keep him under surveillance.

Remus turned away from the sinister trio and his eyes searched for a vivacious red haired sixth year girl, whom he found in the midst of the Hall with a table full of friends. Ginny Weasley had come to Hogwarts with high expectations and her expectations weren't disappointed. She was a spirited girl, free from her mother's evil plans and took her place in Gryffindor. She became her twin brothers' first aid quickly and enjoyed her time at school thoroughly. Ginny's sunny disposition made her many friends. Lately, she had become one of the top beauties and a whole gaggle of boys courted her eagerly. She took her pick from the crowd and had dated at least three of her suitors for a while. Some called her easy, but she usually countered those voices by telling them that she only took her time to evaluate the available gene pool. Ginny was as quick minded as her brothers (some people had long since wondered whether her older brother Ronald had really been sired by Arthur!) and she was as well liked in all the other houses. Her fiery temperament gave her a scandalous reputation, but she never cared for such things. She firmly believed that once your reputation was gone you could live quite unabashedly. Not that she was careless, on the contrary. She deeply cared for all the people she loved. She was a happy-go-lucky kid who enjoyed life and school in general. She was one of the best chasers in the Gryffindor Quidditch team and was a shoe-in for the next captain, as soon as Harry left school. Remus expected Sirius to give her that position as soon as she returned to school after the summer vacation.

Even though she knew Harry through the twins and the Quidditch team, she never got close to him over the years. They remained casual acquaintances at best. Remus thought that was for the best, because there were two temperaments that clashed something horrible in those two. Hermione was always a bit uneasy around the younger girl. Luckily, Ginny never made so much as an attempt to get closer to Harry. Hermione's confidence in herself was never the strongest in the social department.

Finally, Remus turned his attention to the teachers' table. What a change this had gone through, too! Not only were there many more teachers on the faculty, many subjects were now covered by several teachers, because the student population was beginning to grow dramatically. After the stagnation of the past 50 years, it was back up by a steady growth. When it would reach its peak wasn't to be seen yet! The birth rate had skyrocketed in the past seven years. Remus knew that many people who had a child or two of about Harry's age had gone back to reproduce. Harry wasn't the only student of his age by far who had now considerably younger siblings. Witches remained fertile for a much longer time than her Muggle sisters did. They could still have babies until they turned about 80.

Thinking of his own children Remus finished the circle of his musings. He ate quietly until Poppy Pomfrey next to him nudged him.

"You're so quiet, Remus? Something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong at all, Poppy. On the contrary. Just a bit of happy woolgathering over the changes the past almost ten years have brought."

"I would never have expected such a dramatic change in our world, Remus, but I'm content with it. Seeing how things could have turned out and how they did turn out for Harry back then... I shudder! Well, I'm still shuddering, but of satisfaction at the current situation. What approval rate do you expect for Arthur, should there ever be a plebiscite?"

Remus laughed.

"98%. Or so. In any case high in the nineties. Simply because he was the best thing that could have happened to us. Everyone underestimated him by miles, even Amelia herself. And she was confident he would do a good job."

"I can hear you talk about his time as a Minister of Magic in fifty years, Remus. I do hope Arthur never changes."

"I don't think he'd be able to if he tried, Poppy. He's a modest person with modest expectations, and he thinks little of his own achievements. Others might do the same, but they would do it to fish for compliments. Arthur doesn't! He just is that way."

"I've heard he met a French witch at one of his international meetings and has been seen going out with her. Do you know something more?"

"In fact, I do, Poppy. What do you offer for the information?" Remus asked, looking very devious.

She slapped him on the arm.

"You're not expecting anything in return for some gossip, Remus! Shame on you!"

Remus laughed.

"Yes, I think it was last year in November. They met and have met for a few dates in the meantime. He might actually trust a witch again with his feelings, Poppy."

"That would be nice. Do you know who she is?"

"An ambassador of some capacity at the ICW as far as I know. Minerva ought to know more, it was one of those IES meetings, wasn't it, Minerva?"

"Sorry, I haven't followed your conversation. What should I know?"

"Arthur's new partner..."

"Oh, you mean Agnès Lemercier? She's the French representative in the IES. Madame Maxime introduced her to me during that conference last November. Arthur happened to be with us at the time, so he was introduced as well. Perfectly respectable witch. She's a few years younger than Arthur, but not many. It's good that he allows himself a private life again beyond the children. They're mostly grown now, anyway."

"Yes, that was her name. I'm glad for him, too. He can take it easier now. Well, I should rejoin my family over in our flat, I wish you all an excellent evening," Remus said and got up from his place.

"Same to you, Remus!"

Remus went along the long table and turned to walk through some gaps between the students' tables to the big double door that opened up to the entrance hall. His path led him up the stairs to the seventh floor, past the portrait entrance to Gryffindor Tower and on to the end of the corridor where the Gryffindor head of house had his quarters.

He exchanged a few polite words with the Fat Lady, before he spoke the password to the portrait that covered the entry to his flat. As he entered, he found Sirius playing with Ori, with Carrie on his arm. They made it a point to be back from the Great Hall in time to see Orion to bed. As Remus had been at the Great Hall at this night, he took over Ori for his bedtime routine. Like the Phils Ori was quite the handful. Remus wasn't sure if he looked forward to the three coming to Hogwarts as students! He knew they would mean hard work for all teachers. Not in feeding them knowledge, but in dealing with the extra-curricular activities that were to be expected from these kids.

"Time for the bathroom, my sweet," Remus said and lifted Orion on his arms.

"Hi papa! But Carrie must, too!"

"Yes, and Carrie will, too. But she doesn't need the bathroom yet, she's still too small, for her the changing table is still good enough," Remus explained.

There was nothing that Remus loved more than retreating into his own family and caring for his husband and his children. He enjoyed it to spend time with them, even if it meant a lot of extra work. Once the children were in bed though he enjoyed some quiet cuddling time with his husband as well. He sat down next to Sirius who was already spread out on the sofa, scratching one of the dogs behind the ears. The dog had placed his snout flat on the sofa and looked up to Sirius like he was the next best thing to a tasty bone.

A few floors up Harry and Hermione prepared for the bed that they had already shared all year long. For all the world Hermione came through as a prim and proper girl, but she loved to love her wizard and wouldn't waste any opportunity to spend time with him. He didn't want her to either. Everyone expected their engagement announcement as soon as they would have returned from Hogwarts for the last time.

Five days later the Hogwarts Leaving Feast saw their last appearance as students in the Great Hall. As she had done every year since she had taken over as Headmistress, Minerva made an announcement.

"Dear students, it is time again to celebrate the end of another school year. According to my latest information you have all worked well and with a few exceptions will take your place here again after the summer holiday. We are already looking forward to welcome you in September.

"But of course for some of you it's goodbye Hogwarts, and a new period in your life will start! You will go out, seek further education or gainful employment, and you will experience what it means to get out on your own two feet. I am happy, and at the same time a little bit sad that you are leaving us tonight. I shall look forward to see you again somewhere on this island when I venture out of the school and meet other adults rather than trouble-making children. And I shall look especially forward to the day when your own children start arriving here at Hogwarts! Before you go I would like to thank the headgirl, Hermione Granger and the headboy, Harry Potter, as well as their prefects for the wonderful job they've done throughout the year. I am convinced that next year's new prefects and head-students will do a great job as well. It has been a pleasure to see you grow into responsible young adults and I, also in the name of the Hogwarts staff, can only wish you all the best, happiness in your lives and success in your endeavours."

There was applause as one of the teachers stood up to read through the list of students who would leave the school the next day. Everyone of the fourty-four students in Harry's year received an applause, though some much less than others. The students were called alphabetically, leaving all the prefects and head-students for last. Just as everyone expected Harry received a standing ovation when he was called up as the very last students. Most of the school's population was on their feet as they gave him an applause. Even the seventh years all clapped and hooted. Minerva herself was up and clapped, smiling down on her favourite student.

Harry politely thanked his schoolmates and teachers and while he was a bit embarrassed he also took the applause with pride. His Quidditch team had won the Cup for six times in a row, he had been a very popular student, even though he had claimed his witch so early that the other girls felt they never even had a chance at getting closer to the famous Boy-Who-Lived, but he had never acted proud or become a snob. He was the primary heir to one of the richest and oldest magical families in the country but he hadn't ever gone to his head. Almost everyone in the room thought he was the rare case of someone who would always remain close to the basis, to his friends and his family.

Even though she had officially said goodbye to Harry at the Leaving Feast Minerva stood in the door as she hugged Harry, Hermione, Neville, Adrian, Imogen and Luna goodbye.

"I shall see you some time in the next two months, I expect," she said.

"It's good to see you again any time, Aunt Minnie. We would miss you terribly if we didn't," Hermione replied.

"You are very kind, Hermione. Off you go, the carriages await you!"

One by one they took their place in one of the carriages. They were watched by several jealous eyes though.

"As if they were royalty," spat Pansy Parkinson, moving away from the school and taking her place in one of the carriages.

"Yeah, it's horrible. And the only two purebloods among them are blood-traitors," Draco replied.

"We should put some of that money of yours to good use and hire some thugs. They could get rid of them for us."

"You're stupid, Pansy," Draco surprisingly threw in.

"What?"

"Think, you stupid cow. There aren't any thugs available anymore. Weasley has practically cleaned out Knockturn Alley. The Wizengamot is going to be a thing of the past and neither your family nor mine has a hereditary seat on it, so we won't be represented at the new High Chair at all. I doubt Theo will have a chance to regain his old seat..."

"Black is going to get his..." Pansy claimed.

"Yeah, but he's a big fat blood-traiter, isn't he? Of course he'd get his seat. And what's more he's going to pass it on to one of the bastards he sired. That's MY inheritance!"

"Don't you already have enough, darling?"

"Not nearly. When I turned seventeen I went to Gringotts. Got a little shock, believe me. No one ever told me how much money my father has spent on his political campaigns. He threw around almost all he had for political favours and more. Most of it was spent on hiring thugs or bribing the Minister. Look what it brought him! I'm left with a few hundred Thousand Galleons. I don't even possess my family's manor or land anymore. What my father hasn't spent the Ministry has seized. The money I have was what he placed in my trust fund. A pittance of the money he inherited from Grandfather."

Neither of them noticed a tiny little ear that was slowly withdrawn from their carriage, while in a carriage not far ahead of them six young people laughed themselves silly.

"Dear Draco will have to learn to do a little work after all..." Hermione wheezed.

"I wonder if Pansy jumped right away from him," Adrian remarked.

"Yes, I could see her doing that actually," Luna confirmed.

"At least he's realistic," said Imogen.

That stopped most of the laughter.

"You're right! The Goblins probably took the silver spoon right out of little Drakey's mouth. Must have been quite the reality check for the snivelling idiot, to find out that he didn't get quite as much as he hoped for," said Harry. "In fact he'll be less of a public danger if he needs what he has to keep himself. He won't be bribing and hiring as freely as old Lucius."

They reached Hogsmeade Station and boarded the train with all the other students. There were considerably less free spaces now that so many more Muggle-born children were at Hogwarts!

Harry and Hermione had to leave their friends for a short time. They had to lead their last Prefects' Meeting. And they didn't see any need to stick around there for long, they kept the meeting short and fun. Once done they socialised for a while and talked with all of their fellow prefects before they left to rejoin Neville, Luna, Imogen and Adrian.

"There you are! How was the meeting?" Neville asked.

"Just fine, Neville. We kept it short to have some time left to socialise. Everything okay here?"

"Absolutely. We were just trying to guess what this year's holiday destination would be."

Hermione laughed. This was one of their usual sports. It was great fun for them to find out where the extended family would go every year. Though this would probably be the last time they could do something together. They would all go out and look for jobs now, and it wasn't said that they would all be able to join the families next year.

Some of them already had either a job or plans for their further education. Luna wanted to take over her father's magazine one day, so she had decided to take up one of the new courses that were offered by the new magical academy and become a professional journalist. Hermione also planned for university. She wanted to become a healer though. Adrian and Imogen had both applied for Auror training and both had been accepted. Harry had decided to squander some of his time as a young adult and planned to take part in several try-outs for one of the professional Quidditch teams. And Neville was going to become an apprentice Herbologist.

"I'm still amazed that you allow Harry to do something as shallow as becoming a professional Quidditch-player, sister dear," said Imogen.

"He deserves some fun. Just as long as he doesn't allow any groupies to seduce him," Hermione sad, unfazed.

Harry laughed.

"As if any groupie or fan-girl could ever come even close to you, my love. Fear nothing. They'll probably give me a name like the Icicle or something, I'll be so cold towards any female fans," he promised.

"Good. Luna can feed the press the idea then," Hermione said.

Harry pulled her close and kissed her. She returned the kiss and smiled.

"I love you, sweetie," he whispered.

"Me, too," she said, with a grin. "And I love you, of course."

Slowly their compartment began to fill with other friends who came by to have a chat or say goodbye for the summer. This was normal, as their compartment was usually a magnet for the other students. There were very few who didn't come by among the Hogwarts students, even the little ones were always welcome. "Everyone is welcome, especially the little ones," as Harry usually said.

As a prefect, Harry had loved to take care of the little ones. He always got to know the first years personally and helped them whenever they needed help. In fact, he and Hermione helped the school beginners much more than anyone else had helped them when they had only just started at Hogwarts. They had now made it a tradition and new prefects learned to 'mother' the little ones just like Hermione and Harry had shown them. Sirius was also there a good bit more than Minerva had been. Since he showed up regularly in the Gryffindor common room, he was a head of house that the children could relate to once they noticed that he was there for them, and not to control them. He played games with them, he talked with them, and sometimes he answered questions the students might have on their homework. In short, Gryffindor now felt like a home away from home.

The other houses had the same feel, even Slytherin, where Septima Vector had ruled with an iron fist at the start and then slowly started to give the children in her care feelings back. She found that the children in Slytherin were starved for love and care! Many of them had very little at home and the remaining children from classic Death Eater families were the worst of the lot. From on Harry's third year they had regular 'guests' staying at Gryffindor Tower for a while, just so they could be introduced to a world of happiness and joy. It gave them a much different view of life and most of the Slytherins who spent some time with the Gryffindors learned that even if they were ambitious and a bit sly they could still have a happy outlook in life. It showed them that having feelings towards themselves and others (something, which was almost beaten out of many of them by their pureblood parents) did not mean they were weak. They learned what strength there was in showing sympathy and love.

Harry's very last journey on the Hogwarts Express seemed to pass extra fast. His only worry now was that he would probably have a choice of Quidditch teams to join, but he didn't want to do that costing an already starting Seeker his or her post. He wished he could just try out under a glamour and a fake name, but wasn't sure how this would go over. He'd have to find out if he had to give a name before trying out or if he could usually just get there and try. In that case, he'd only give his name after the try-outs. And he'd use a glamour as well. He knew that there were often scouts who watched the games at Hogwarts and if they spotted real talent, they seemed to contact prospective players.

Platform 9¾ was as it always was. The crowds had only become more in the past seven years than Harry could ever remember. There was always a little less hustle and bustle when they returned to King's Cross, because many parents preferred to wait outside of the barrier for their children. Muggles couldn't get through unless magical people helped them, but most of the magicals these days used the Floo connection. The Potters had brought Hermione's parents along though.

Just as they had done the past three years, Hermione and Harry put down their trunks and joined the other prefects to help where their help was needed until the platform was properly deserted by every non-prefect student. This meant the final goodbye from their schooldays! Harry and Hermione hugged all the other prefects and together the seventh years said goodbye to their days at Hogwarts.

"It's a little sad, isn't it?" Padma Patil asked.

"It's pretty darn sad, is what it is," Harry replied and finally did feel the prickle behind his eyes he'd feared he'd feel much earlier. He was very emotional, doubly so because he'd passed through the school for a second time.

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Ernie McMillan asked, as they collected their trunks to join their families.

"I guess so," said Tracey Davies. She was one of the Slytherin prefects who had turned out very nice. "But we'll meet in the pubs around Diagon Alley now, won't we?"

"Yep, of course. See you soon, guys!" Susan Bones cried, before meeting up with the parents that had been given back to her when Harry received his own parents back. Her auntie also waited for her as well as two young siblings that she had received just like Harry.

When she was finally let down from her daddy's arms, little Lili had jumped off and run to Harry, who caught her and swung her around.

"Well, hello, my little charmer! Are you happy to see me?" he greeted her.

"Ve'y 'appy, 'awwy," she cried.

"That's good. And I'm here to stay for a little longer now. This family is going to grow quite a bit now, Lili. At least for a while."

"Why?"

"Because Hermione, Adrian, Imogen and their parents are moving in for the time being, so that we can all be together. How do you like that?"

"Oooh! Nice!" the little girl cried.

Now she wanted down to go and tell Auntie Helen that she was happy to have her at home.

James and Lily had invited the Grangers to them. It was clear to them both that the Granger children would want to stay within the magical world and that this would separate the parents from most of their children's activities. But, as they had their dental practice in a reasonable reaching distance, it would be easy to give them a home at Potter Manor and thus have Helen and George in all of their lives.

This was news to Hermione, who stared at Harry.

"Hey! Why don't I know anything about this?"

Harry grinned cheekily and said:

"Surprise, my love! As far as I know they have already moved into their apartment in the west wing of the house."

"West wing? There wasn't any west wing at Potter Manor, was there?"

Harry shook his head.

"There is now! Or it should be," he answered with a grin.

Hermione flew over to her parents and asked them:

"Hi, Mum! Hi, Dad! Is that true? You're moving in with the Potters?"

"Yes, love, that's true. In fact, we've just finished moving in last weekend. But that also meant that we sold our old house."

"It was a nice house, but I don't really mind, mum."

"Great. We could pay most of the costs for the new build and while the magical builders were working, we've already stayed at the Manor as well."

"I'm really looking forward to see it, Mum! It's such a wonderful surprise. I worried what you'd say when I would have wanted to stay with Harry."

"This way you can stay with your sweetheart and we still live together for a while. Best for all of us," said George.

Hermione fully agreed. Adrian and Imogen were pleased, too.

They were even more pleased when the whole family arrived at Potter Manor, as had become tradition between the Potters, Grangers, Longbottoms and Lovegoods in the past seven years.

On the western end of the Manor, a beautiful new wing had been added, in the same style as the whole house was already built, so it did look new, but it fitted the previously existing building perfectly. It had the same four floors and looked just as grand as the rest of the huge building.

It took a few days to get used to the new outlook in life after Hogwarts. If Harry took the pain of remembering the chaos that was the end of his school career he winced. Back in his first life he didn't have a formal ending since they'd left school after sixth year. Hermione had gone back with Ginny to finish her schooling, while Ron had stayed at home. He was too lazy to finish his education. Harry had an invite to start at the Auror Academy, in spite of his lack of NEWTS. He had become an Auror and worked for a while, but then he had been asked to quit by Ginny, who didn't plan on spending her life around his busy Auror schedule.

This time Harry hadn't even considered becoming an Auror. His father was one and Harry loved his dad, but he didn't want to become what James was. James only worked part time, because he wanted to do something constructive in his life, the rest he cared for his growing family. He didn't even try to influence Harry's career choices, because he was so proud of Harry's achievements. His second son Bobby sometimes thought he'd never be able to come even close in reaching Harry's achievements, but he was too down to earth to be jealous. Bobby was pampered like all of his siblings, pampered with affection and attention from their parents not with an over abundance of gifts. Lily and James were very aware of the damage spoilt children can do to a family, therefore they weren't only loving, they were quite strict parents.

Harry and Hermione didn't need to ask, they moved into Harry's own suite of rooms right away. They didn't change much; just his sitting room became a mixture of lounge and study area.

"This used to be a big family and they provided for everyone, didn't they?" Hermione asked when they walked through the part of the house that was traditionally assigned to the heir. It consisted of two floors on the third and fourth floor of one side of the house. There was a master bedroom with its own bathroom, three more big bedrooms, two of them connected with another big bathroom, two sitting rooms, one a bit larger than the other one. There was even a kitchen with a dining room.

Harry moved his stuff out of his old bedroom in the main part of the house. Hermione moved hers from the West Wing, where her parents had stored all of their children's things to her new apartment on the other side of the house. Adrian and Imogen took residence in their new bedrooms, both very luscious and big. They would be apparating to Auror training from home, but they had over two months of free time until that started. The only one of the six who had to start right away was Neville. He had two weeks of vacation and then he'd start his apprenticeship of two years with a magical nursery.

The whole gang of friends enjoyed their first few days of vacation with lots of little trips in their surrounding, met up with other friends in Diagon Alley, visited the Weasley twins at their shop, and generally had a lot of unencumbered fun.

One evening, when they sat at one of the bars in Diagon Alley with Fred and George around, Harry asked them:

"What's your younger brother doing now? Ron?"

Fred and George nearly hissed.

"The git doesn't even know! Seems like his life at Hogwarts never went beyond the chess club. He's had some decent friends there, but never did anything to preserve the friendships. Now he's sitting at home and doesn't know what he wants to do. He'd asked Dad to help him to a job at the Ministry, but Dad straight away told him there was no place at the Ministry for lazy gits. Ron's never really understood that something one wants needs to be achieved and to achieve it you have to investo of yourself in it. If you don't have the money to do that, it must be an investment of work. Tell that to the stupid arse!" George ranted.

"That's by far not all. Ron doesn't lift a finger in the house, even though he could use magic, he keeps complaining that we still live at the Burrow, even though Dad now earns more money than we can spend. He thinks that we should live in a big manor now, since Dad's the Minister. Doesn't even give a thought about the fact that Dad simply loves the Burrow and that it's been the Weasley home for ages just like others have their manors. Even though it looks rundown, it really isn't, you know, it's got its distinctive Weasley character. Once we've all flown the nest it'll become the home for Bill and Fleur and their children. Not even Fleur looks down on it! And you know what kind of a snob she can be if she wants to. But bloody Ronald Bilius Weasley thinks he's something better. I'm sure Dad's going to throw him out anytime soon."

"Oh dear. I seem to have pushed a needle inside a very ugly wound there, have I?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, we tend to start ranting about that a lot. Dad's given Ron an ultimatum. He must find some gainful income in the next two months or he'll be out of the Burrow. Now that Fleur's expecting her first baby Dad wants to free the Burrow, I think, at the latest when Ginny leaves for Hogwarts for her seventh year. And he wants to have the house thoroughly renovated before Bill and Fleur take over," Fred explained, now calmer again.

"But Ron remains to be a very sore point in the family flesh. I wish he'd just join mother, I'm quite sure that's where he got his gittishness from anyway..." George growled.

Angelina, who sat next to him, shoved her future brother-in-law:

"Gittishness? What word is that, George?"

"Don't think it exists, but it definitely fits Ron, believe me! When Dad refused to simply give him a job at the Ministry he tried us - he didn't even have the decency to ASK for a job, he simply said, well, if I can't work at the Ministry then I'll work at Fred and George's!" said Fred.

"But we gave him a swift verbal kick in the nuts and told him he'd get at most two Galleons a week and would have to work at least nine hour shifts. He then thought that no one can survive on such a salary and what did we mean with nine hours at least, at the Ministry they work seven only..."

"And we welcomed him to the real world. Needless to say he didn't want the job and now the door's closed quite firmly."

"Yep, you're right - definitely a git."

They all laughed and dropped the subject.

"So, Harry, Quidditch then, I've heard?"

"I think so. It's the one thing I do best, isn't it?"

"You certainly do it well. Whatever team you'll join I'm sure they'll make an excellent catch with you!"

"Do you have a starting place by now?" Harry asked his former fellow Gryffindor Chaser.

"I probably get it next season. The Harpies are a pretty tough team to get in I'm very happy to be a reserve until I may get the starting position. It seems to be that in most teams you'll have to play reserve for two to four years before you become first string."

"That's fine with me. Training and otherwise living – I'll take it if I can get it. And it looks like my family and Hermione all support me!"

Harry looked so thoroughly happy they all smiled. Among his friends very few knew about his former life, most of them knew him as a very happy person who was friendly and helpful with everyone and they liked him because he was so friendly.

"You're not wrong, you know. Besides, you'll be a 'lord of the manor' one day, so it seems only right that you do something that is more fun than important," Fred joked.

Unlike most of the other people present, he knew about the time travel. His father was too deeply involved it was quite impossible that the very alert twins had not found out something fishy.

"I could, of course, consecrate my time to achieve political goals, but the ones I would have wanted to achieve are already taken care of, therefore I decided on the fun. Once I'm over playing Quidditch I'll probably pick up going through all the stuff that's in the libraries in Potter Manor. There are several of them there! In other words I plan to become my own curator."

Hermione gave him a warm smile.

"Sounds nice to me. Will you pay yourself wages for the position?" she asked.

"Certainly not! D'you think I want to pay extra taxes? I think the family already pays enough of them AND does a lot of charity work as well," he threw back.

"Didn't think you would, hon."

While their life after school was kicked off for good the young people learned to cope with the adult world very well. Harry tried out for four different Quidditch teams and was inundated with offers from all of them. The best offer in both salary and working conditions came from Puddlemere United, so Harry happily rejoined his old teammate's team and once the summer holidays were over he started his professional Quidditch training.

The results were visible within two months. His body had been shaped quite nicely before, but now he had already gained a much leaner, more muscular body. He was only second string yet, of course, but he brought much of himself into the team and his obvious sincerity quickly convinced his trainer that this was not only a young player with talent, but one who committed himself to the team and its efforts. Their former second string Seeker had been slacking more often than not once he was hired, but one of the new rules that would be implemented in the next season stated that no player was allowed to play longer than six hours at once anymore. Since some games took several days to conclude that meant that all professional teams had to hire additional players and that the reserve players would see much more action in future. That pleased Harry, who looked forward to have the first year on the team as a training time. His trainer had decided that he and the current first string Seeker, a very routined woman named Patricia Bonham would frequently swop starting places as soon as he was well integrated into the team. He would do the same with the four new Beaters and six new Chasers, who would all learn to play with all others, so that they would be able to interchange and not only play with their usual partners.

It made Harry laugh when Oliver Wood moaned that now he'd get less match time than expected. Oliver had just been lifted to first string. Harry tried to explain to Oliver that the same thing happened to the ice hockey players - they had a number of lines of players in the different sections, but these would also have to be comfortable with all of the others not in their designated lines. Oliver's first reaction was a predictable one:

"What's ice hockey?"

Harry grinned.

"Should go and see a game once - it's bloody fast and played on ice. You get hooks with which you drive a small black disk between the goals to try and score. Not an easy feat, but fun to watch."

"Sounds crazy," said Oliver sincerely.

That got Harry to laugh even harder.

"How do you know about that at all, Harry? It's not like you have much contact with the Muggle world?"

"But I have Muggle parents-in-law, as you know - and we've spent time at their place. George and I love to watch sports programmes on the telly and we look for all different kinds of sports - from Snooker to Swimming, from Darts to Dancing, anything! We're quite the experts in some of them and believe you me the Muggles have more kinds of sports than you have hair on your head and everywhere else! I love Quidditch, or I wouldn't have become a professional, but the choice of sports here is limited to Quidditch. There's loads more to enjoy. George plays golf and he's taken everyone in the family to try it out. Mum and Dad both love it and I've played a bit as well, it's fun."

Oliver at first looked almost offended how anyone could look at anything else than Quidditch, but that was what Harry would have expected. Things didn't change from one day to another with a Quidditch fanatic like Oliver. He'd stay goodnatured about Harry's occasional teasing.

It was one sign of the time and its changes though that Puddlemere United hadn't taken on Harry because he was the Boy-Who-Lived (he hardly ever heard that term anymore, much to his happiness), but on his merits as a young, gifted Quidditch player. Thus he was one of many players who were hired up and down the country. It wasn't easy for the teams to fill their teams, and that was when lazy kid Ron actually got lucky as he got one of the last places available, he became third string Keeper for his favourite team, the Chudley Cannons. Harry grinned with Fred and George when they told him at one of their regular meetings in the Diagon Alley pubs.

"Can you believe it? They have no idea what they got with him, but I suppose he'll vanish in there for a while. They can't pay him much though, probably just a Galleon or two more than he would have got at our place, but he think he can stay as lazy as he is and do nothing. He doesn't expect to play for a long time."

Harry and Oliver snorted.

"Doesn't he know that they only stocked up on so many players because they will have to have good players in place when the new rule is implemented that players will replace injured players or players who have been on the broom for six hours?"

"Don't think he's aware of that, mate. He just proudly said he'd move out next week. Found a furnished apartment somewhere in Hogsmeade."

"You'll probably be glad."

"Glad? We went to the pub in the village to celebrate, everyone except Ron of course. Dad even allowed Ginny to come along. That's when he told us the real reason for the celebration: with Ron out of the house he'd move to the official residence of the Minister so Bill and Fleur could have the Burrow to themselves."

"Isn't there an election coming up? What if he doesn't win that?" Oliver asked.

"I don't want to sound arrogant, but it really looks like Dad's popularity couldn't be higher. He's done so much good for us that there is no way people won't support him further. I'm not even sure if there's even someone else who runs. You can write down any name on your ballot, of course, doesn't have to be an official candidate either, but I really can't see him not winning," Fred said with a wide smile.

"In any case he's got my vote. He deserves the positive feedback from the voters. I'm not astonished if no one else will run, because frankly, they'd have to be very good losers," Hermione replied.

"That's what we think, too," Fred agreed.

"He doesn't quite have the power all the former Ministers had, and he's cut that power himself, so that's probably one of the many reasons why people trust him so," was Oliver's opinion.

"And he's a firm believer in the maxim of 'absolute power corrupts absolutely', he'll stay on for a while still, but he'll know when to step down and he'll probably build up a few possible successors to give the public a real choice. I have great respect for my Dad. He's become a powerful man, but he still remained to be our Dad. Ever since he took over as Minister he made it a point to stay in our lives as well as he could, especially after the divorce. Agnès is always around now and I tell you she really makes a difference! Have you seen Dad's clothes lately? If through nothing else you can see that he's with a French woman by the way he dresses now. And he goes out to the theatre and concerts and things. Mother would just stick him to his armchair and made a couch potato out of him. Agnès takes him out and has him take her out. She's very nice. We only tell her off when she starts to speak French with Fleur, and then she usually tells us to learn French."

While Harry allowed himself the fun (and the physical abuse through training, as Hermione saw it) Hermione worked hard for her studies. She didn't have to hurry, she was allowed to be thorough. She was with the first group of students who were trained at a university, and once through the first two years there she would enter into St. Mungo's for the practical training in all medical aspects, from patient care to diagnosis and treatment. There was an intensive training in anatomy, more thorough than it would be possible with the old system of healer training on the job. Almost analogue to the Muggle discipline the new trainee healers studied parasitology, but their training also contained much information about organisms that were entirely magical, which affected only magical people. Another important part were healing potions. Even if one day they didn't have to brew these potions themselves they were taught to know the acting agents and properties of all potions to choose the right ones for treatment. Not all treatments were possible with simple wandwaving, as the lecturer said.

Hermione enjoyed every minute of it. She saw much less of Harry of course, but both didn't mind, they spent an hour or so together at least every day, and that did not include eating or sleeping in the same bed. They informed their families that they would set the date for their wedding after the first wave of Hermione's two year courses at university. She would still have to learn a lot after that, but the further two years would be spent as an intern in St. Mungo's, where she would go through the departments, before returning to university for further studies in her specialised area. What that would be she would see once she got into the hospital.

Until then she happily went to watch the Puddlemere's games. James was so proud of Harry he got ten season's tickets for whoever wanted to accompany him to see the games. That alone made him to a good sponsor and if he wanted to invite more people he usually got more seats in the box. Even if Harry didn't play he still enjoyed having his family around.


	10. An Epilogue at Potter Manor

**An Epilogue at Potter Manor**

**15.6.2135**

Hermione sat down, tiredly, and looked out of the window, across the park that surrounded the manor, and sighed. She tended to her father-in-law, who quickly reached the end of his life. He was already unconscious now, but Hermione was certain he was not in pain. James was about to rejoin his wive, who, just a year before, had passed to her next adventure. Hermione smiled and looked at the old man, with fondness in her heart. This wizard had spent most of his life helping others, having fun, playing with all of his children, grand- and great-grandchildren. He had enjoyed political influence, he had enjoyed much of his life tending to the house and the land, he had built up a huge portfolio of properties, which he rented or sold, he had followed the sports he liked.

"You've had an amazingly happy life, James. For all the unhappiness in your early years you were given a wonderful second chance, weren't you? And we were allowed to enjoy that with you. If ever a girl was lucky with her in-laws it was me..."

Over one hundred years of solid peace and economical prosperity lay behind them. James had been responsible for much of the prosperity, not only his own, but in his functions as the economic specialist in the Wizard's Council he had been able to teach his fellow magicals how to do business. While he taught them to become more successful in their business encounters he also taught them to share that with their employees. Wages in the magical world had never been as safe and comfortable as they were at the moment. James had done excellent work in keeping business owners from becoming greedy on their employees' cost, he showed them how money could be made and how it could do good for those who deserved it.

He had lived his ideals. As the head of the House of Potter he had a duty towards the old family, to keep the lands and fortune together for future generations, and he had had a firm hand on his children when they were young. None of the eight children he sired was allowed to simply sit back and live off the family fortune. All eight of them had to get on their own feet before they were allowed to profit from anything the family earned. Bobby had become a solicitor. The Phils had followed Harry in becoming professional Quidditch players, one of the most successful pairs of Beaters the Holyhead Harpies had ever had. Harry could sing a song about that as he had been at the receiving end of their talents once or twice. Lilian had started out as a magical seamstress and was supported in starting her own design company. She successfully built up a very widespread network of clothes manufacturies as well as outlets. To this day she travelled all around the world to see to her different shops.

James and Lily had three more children after Lili, two boys, Steven and Gerard, and another girl, Vivienne. Steven was the carbon copy of his mother, but had most of the the easy-going temperament of his father, and had become the scholar in the family. Gerard was another carbon copy of James' with a similar disposition as Harry. He was another traveller, in his case for his own company that dealt in magical media. Everything from communication devices to technical media installations was part of this company.

The youngest, Vivienne, was most like her mother Lily of all eight Potter children. She had her greatest talents in the field of potion making. She made a successful career in the Ministry, working at the Potions Development Agency. Her greatest success had been the finalisation of a cure for lycanthropy. It had been her greatest day when she was able to give it to her favourite family uncle, Remus. He was 68 when he received the potion that terminated the bane of his life. The first full moon without a forced transformation was the greatest gift Remus ever received. The whole family couldn't have been much happier than he was himself.

After his Quidditch career found its end Harry became a father of a considerable brood of children himself. Hermione didn't mind to give him his children. They had five, four daughters and a son. All of them were now between 80 and 110 years old now. All of them had children and all of them already had at least one great-grandchild. Hermione had them all called in to give James the send-off he deserved, that of a loving, caring family around him.

She looked up at the wall, where two people sat in their frames and looked down on her and their dying son.

"How are you, Hermione?"

"Quite well, Dorea. It's never easy, and he's the last one to leave us. He'll be happy to join Padfoot and Moony and they'll once again become the Marauders, I guess," Hermione whispered.

"Painting-James is staying far away! He knows that James is dying."

"Well, normally paintings aren't alive when the person they depict is still alive, I quite understand he doesn't wish to watch."

Dorea grinned.

"You're right, I don't think I would either. He isn't in pain though, is he?"

"No, he isn't - I gave him enough that he doesn't feel anything. He'd probably be in the last stages of agony if I hadn't."

The door opened and Harry entered, together with his oldest daughter Susan. Like her mother, Susan was a healer and she had shared most of the care for her grandfather. She sat down next to Hermione and quietly asked:

"How is he, Mum?"

"Not well. I don't give him much more than an hour, love."

"I'm so going to miss him..." Susan said, a few tears in her eyes.

"You're not the only one. But life has a beginning and an end. His end is now. Do you think we should call in everyone now?"

Susan cast a quick spell and only nodded.

"I'll get them, love."

A few minutes later, the family gathered in the big bedroom and even though they were many they still all found their space in the huge room. They sat down on the sofas and on chairs they either conjured or had brought along and silently they waited until their ancestor drew his very last breath. Hermione, Harry and Susan were closest, and when Susan moved forward to close her grandfather's eyes everyone in the room knew he had now joined his friends and family in the great beyond.

Harry didn't cry. He stood at the end of his father's bed, his arms around Hermione's shoulders and started to speak:

"This is the end that befitted you, dad! You were brutally murdered once but when you were given back to us you made us completely forget that there were almost ten years missing between that first part of your life and your real life. You had a great life, filled with love and laughter and some adventure. You and Mum have created a wonderful family and I'm proud to take your place as the Head of this family now, even though I know I'm probably not quite as worthy. I hope your passage was an easy one and you have already met up with Mum and Padfoot and Moony. I love you, Dad, you were the best Dad anyone could ask for and I have strived to get into your footsteps as have Bobby, the Phils, Lily, Stevie, Gerry and Viv. Goodbye, Daddy."

The funeral wasn't a sad affair. James had strictly forbidden that in his will and his children knew that he didn't want them to be sad. Reasonably seen his long life had found its natural end and all of his children knew. During the wake they freshened up all the stories they could, one for one picked a story that they told the rest and everyone sat and listened to the collection. Good food and drinks on the table the family remembered the last of James' generation to pass and after that they returned to their places in their lives.

Harry and Hermione were now the patriarch and matriarch of the family and they enjoyed a quiet time at the Manor. Their siblings had their own homes, their children, Susan, Teresa, Maud and Tristan had mostly left the house. Tristan still lived at the Manor with his own family, Harry and Hermione had left her wing to him and moved to a bedroom near the master bedroom on the first floor.

Every summer they had a week during which most of the family got together, not only the Potters, but the Grangers, the Longbottoms and the Blacks as well. Hermione and her daughters were the current hostesses and the ones who organised most of the week-long party. Only three weeks after James' death they welcomed the extended family again, this time for the already traditional feast that lasted for a whole week. It was the main opportunity for all the cousins, second and third cousins, all the siblings to meet up again and chat about what they had done through the year. Many of them saw each other regularly, but that didn't stop them from enjoying their great cook-out as they called it.

James felt nothing. Hermione had taken away the pain and he had welcomed the final moments, even if he didn't feel them consciously. But he woke up when he passed. He felt himself move upwards, out of his body and softly floating he could see his big family surrounding his bed and he watched Susan as she closed the eyes on his body.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he said quietly before he was drawn away.

... only to be pounced by a great big dog and a great big wolf. The feisty girl he had married so many years before dragged them both away by their ears, but she grinned.

"We were waiting for you patiently, love, welcome home!"

And even though he had just left his family behind, grieving, he embraced Lily and said:

"I'm happy to be in your arms again, my love. They will do fine and now it's our duty to patiently wait for them to join us."

A happy Marauder generation watched their family members celebrating the summer below. Seeing them in the gardens of Potter Manor James looked at his fellow Marauders and they all said:

"Mischief Managed!"


End file.
